Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-11-02
PAYMENT OF DISTRICT TAX
FIRST HALF OF ANNUAL AMOUNT
NOW DUE.
Confusion Arising From the Special
Legislation of Last Year-But
Few Responding.

Taxes for the first half of the current
tax year are now due and payable, and if
not paid before the LIST of December viii
be considered in arrears and penalty Of
l per cent per month will be imposed ac-
cording to law. The payment of taxes in
two installments, namely, beginning the
1st of November and the LIST of May, is
a return to the old system which has
been in vogue in the District so many
years, but which was suspended last year
by a special act of Congress. Last May
the taxes for the whole year Were paid
in one installment, the usual semi-annual
payment in November preceding having
been omitted through congressional action
in order that new system OF bookkeep-
ing and induces might be established in
the offices Of the assessor and the coilec-
tor of taxes
The Commissioners and the tax officials
in various ways have tried to make 1t
clear that the arrangement under when
the taxes for the entire year were paid
in one inStallment was but temporary
arrangement and that hereafter, or until
some further legislation is had upon the
subject, taxes will be received in Novem-
Der and in May, as formerly. The Commits
sioners, lacked by the citizens generally,
and the assessor and the collector OF
taxes, particularly, have urged upon Con-
sress from time to time the adoption OF the
single payment plan, but have not as yet
succeeded in accomplishing the desired
end.
AS evidence of the fact that it is not gen
orally understood that taxes for the first
half of the year were due November 1 there
has been an almost unprecedentedly small
number of taxpayers at the District build
ing for the purpose of settling their &C
counts. The tax bills for the entire Dis
trict have all been made out in advance in
the office of the assessor and have been
since office
opened for business yesterday morning at .
o'clock.
Clerks Practically Idle.
The clerks who were placed at the varl-
Gus windows in the assessors office where
the bills for the different initials are placed
have been practically idle. The slowness of
the taxpayers in coming to the fore means
that unless the conditions Of dizziness now
prevailing at the District building change
within the next week there will be such a
crush of taxpaying toward the close of the
month as to tax the already small force of
clerks to their utmost capacity for work.
While the law now in force on the subj ect
prescriDes positively that the first half
taxes shall be paid this November it does
not inhibit the payment of the whole tax at
once, in that taxpayers may during the cur
rent month pay what Is due the District
now and what Will be due in May at one
time. There Is nothing in the act, how
ever, which will permit the taxpayers to
omit payment this November and then pay
for the entire year next May, unless they
wish to add the accruing penalties of six
months on the amount now due.
In consequence of this provision of the
law the assessor directed that in making
out the tax bills for this November the
total amount Of the tax should not be set
down thereon. Now the clerks ask the
citizens who call to pay their taxes whether
they desire to pay only for the first six
months or for the entire year. The amount
is set down in accordance with their an
swers.
One of the Features.
AS one of the features of the new system
of handling tax bills in the District Offices
used for the first time last May, it was
decided al that time that all the bills should
be made out in advance and placed in the
office of the collector of taxes. The tax
payers would then call only at the tax
collectors and would not pass through the
assessor Office. This plan did not prove
successful, because of the congested con-
dltlons 1t brought about in the collectors
ONCE and because some of the taXpayers
wanted divided bills, etc. and then, to Sc
cure them, would have to at last go to the
assessors office and have the matter
Strengthened out. AS a result of the first
few days trial the last May it was decided
to place the bills back in the assessors
office and to distribute them from there as
previously had been the case In all other
ways the system adopted was found to
work splendfdiy. AS it is now arranged.
with the bills being distributed by the as
SCISSORS force in his office, the plan is moy-
ing along very smoothly