Evening star., 1901-12-24
The Personal Tax.

The proposition to draft a personal tax
law to meet the objections raised by the
District courts to that now on the statute
books comes at an interesting stage Of the
Districts financial experience.
The District is already heavily taxed,
and the revenue from this taxation is, in
ordinary circumstances, more than suff1-
cient to meet its budget requirements. For
the District has for number of years
raised more money by both real estate and
personal taxation than the government
through Congress, has been willing to meet,
dollar for dollar, in accordance with the
spirit and letter Of the organic act Of local
government. Under these circumstances,
II is somewhat difficult for the intelligent
Washingtonian to appreciate the necessity
for the enactment and enforcement of a
personal tax law, which, in effect, will only
increase the margin of the revenues of the
District over and above the annual expendi-
lures. accommodating a surplus perhaps to
tempt Congress into further violations of
the organic act.
But II Congress Is willing to proceed
henceforth upon the principle of appropriat-
ing a dollar of government money for
every dollar of District money raised by
taxation, the District Is willing that the
form of its taxation be changed in part If
desired by Congress, 50 that portion of Its
burden shall fall upon a certain class of
personal property, at the same time reliev-
Ing the real property from a corresponding
fraction of It's present weight of assess
ment.
The District, however, Is not willing to
submit to a personal tax law of the usual
kind. inquisitorial, inequitable and prov
ocat1ve Of perjury. Such law is impossible
of absolute enforcement. 1t engenders
disrespect for the taxing power of the
municipality. 1t leads to evasions which,
in their final effect, disturb the balance of
the tax burden. The District will accept
personal tax law which assesses only the
tangible property of the citizens, that which
the assessors can see and the value of
which they can reliably estimate. The
operation Of such law need not be op-
pressive. save as it may lead to a local tax
alton excessive in the aggregate.
1t must be remembered that Washington
has In the years past raised a considerable
part Of its revenue from personal taxation.
According to the census of 1890 its assessed
personal property equaled in value those of
Denver and Omaha combined. with a COM
bined population of 241. .165 as against 1892
for Washington. Its assessed personal prop
erty exceeded those of Omaha, Des Moines,
Kansas City, Kas.. and Seattle, each the
largest and wealthiest city in It's state,
with combined population Of 2I1 .932. 1t
exceeded that of Buffalo, with $1,000 more
population. 1t was only a slight fraction
less than that of Brooklyn, with more than
four times the population of Washington.
So 1t is to be seen that Washington has
not in the past escaped heavy personal tax
alton. despite the fact that it's real estate
assessment was always high and It's net tax
burden was equal to the average of the
American cities. 1t matters but little, in
the abstract, to Washington, whether 1t
raises its half of the cost of the local es-
tablishment by one form of taxation or
another If more is raised in the aggregate
than Congress Is willing to meet in the
future, as in the past, there should be a
scaling Of the tax burden, not an increase,
as Is now proposed. If, on the other hand,
Congress Is prepared to meet the total of
the Districts revenues with an equal
amount, and to apply the sum to the main
tenance and improvement of the District
in strict accordance with the organic act,
Washington Is doubtless willing that part
of Its tax burden be changed in character
and levied on a personal tax basis, along
the lines Of the proposed measure.