Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-02
The Old, Unbiased Charge That
the District is Under Taxed.
MET BY STATISTICS
DEBATE ON APPROPRIATION BILL
FULL OF MEASUREMENTS.
No One Rises to Put the House Right
on the Vital Questions of
Taxation.

District appropriation bill ELECTED the usual
amount of misinformation on the part of
members in regard to the financial status
of the District in comparison with other
communities in the United States. Despite
the frequency with which statistics bear
ing upon questions of municipal finance are
collected and prepared by the government
1t was apparent yesterday that the legis-
lators have not awaited themselves of them
to the extent of presenting accurate
statement when the capitals situation is
under consideration. Repeatedly the state
ment was made that this city pays taxes at
lower rate than other cities. Mr.. Rich
ardson. for instance, said:
II ask my friend CN1r. McDermotD if he
knows of any city of $4,000 or 100000 pop
ulation in the United States where the
state tax, county tax and municipal tax,
and other special taxes that are levied, in
the aggregate, fail to exceed dollar and a
half on the hundred dollars worth of prop
erty2"
In point of fact, as the statistics of the
department of labor show, the city of st.
Louis, with population of oIo,23S. includ-
ing state county and city taxes and school
rates pays net rate of S1.41 a hundred, as
against $50 paid by the District.
The Local Assessment.
But as The Star has often pointed out,
the tax rate is not the determining factor
In the tax equation, being merely one of the
elements. If the assessment and the rate
are both low the tax Is low. If the rate is
high and the assessment Is high, the tax
Is high. If the rate is low and the assess
ment high. the tax may be average, and
also when the rate is high and the assess
ment low. Mr.. Richardson has gone wrong
on both propositions. As just quoted, he
miS-stated the fact to the local rate.
In the debate the day before, he mis-stated
the fact as to the local assessment. He
said then:
The valuation of real estate If 1 am not
misinformed, is very low. If there
were a fair assessment or valuation of the
realty in this District, ii seems to me we
would get all the money We need"
The official statistics absolutely refute
this charge. The realty assessment in the
District is high, not low. 1t is higher in
the aggregate than that in Cleveland, Gin
cinnati New Orleans, Detroit Milwaukee,
Newark, Jersey City, Louisville, Minneapo-
lis. Providence, Indianapolis Kansas City
or St Paul, these cities being chosen for
comparison with Washington because of
their approximate equality in population.
1t is higher even than the combined assess
mentS in the cities of Cleveland and Kan
els City, which have a joint population of
% per cent larger than that OF Washington.
Per Capita Proof of High Assessment.
The real test of a taxation question lies
in its per capita statement. Mr.. Richard
sons charge that the present assessment of
real property in the District is too low Is
emphatically refuted when the figures are
reduced to this basis. According to the
statistics furnished by the department of
labor the real property assessment per
capita OF the cities approximating to the
size of Washington, eight above and eight
below the capital in the population list, is
follows:
Pittsburg, 81 OS1 90; Providence, Ss49O7;
San Francisco, SS41 10; Washington,
S63349; Buffalo. S632.76: Detroit, S6096o
Indianapolis. S53367; Cincinnati, sJO4 II;
Newark. S4S1.12; Milwaukee. S44S57; Louis
Vile, S43613; ST. Paul, S434 60; Jersey City,
S4095S; Minneapolis. S3SS 06; New Orleans,
$}11.19; Kansas City, 1851 "A; Cleveland,
S2sG14.
Thus it appears that instead of having a
low realty assessment, that of Washington,
measured in per capita figures is fourth in
the list Of seventeen cities of relatively
equal size. 1t is interesting In passing to
note that the realty assessment of Pitts
burg, the leader in this list, is very high,
mainly, 1t would seem, because of the fact
that the personal property assessment in
that city Is very low, lowest, indeed, of any
city in the class, being only S4594, 300 Thus
the city which prefers to assess it's realty
sCnalty most lightly on order to preserve
the balance which every well regulated mu-
inequality seeks to maintain in the adjust |