Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-25
The Local Tax Burden.

consideration at this time OF new Dur
dens of taxation for the District of
Columbia?
VIII Congress decide that it is its func-
ton. unnecessarily so far as the raising
of revenues for legitimate public pur-
poses is concerned, to see that the WASH
ingtonian is blistered with every form
of tax exacton from which any unfor-
tiinate taxpayer suffers in all the world:
Because this or that municipal taxpayer
here or in Europe, under his own
peculiar local conditions Involving per-
haps extravaganza, corruption, the reign
of the Srafter), pays poll tax. road
tax, an inheritance tax. an income tax,
or tax on everything he produces anu
on everything he consumes, on every
cent he takes in and every cent he pays
out-must all these taxes be levied upon
and collected from the Washington tax
payer under entirely different conditions
ard with no compelling necessity in evil
dence?
II has been suggested that all possible
taxes should be imposed by representa-
tives OF the states upon residents In the
District in order to prevent any one from
coming to live in the District to escape
some especially Objectionable form OF
taxation in any of the states. The con-
tention is that Congress, acting as the
local legislature representing in theory
the Washingtonians in deciding for them
selves on American principles their own
forms Of taxation. should disregard the
wishes and welfare of its Washington
constituents and as local legislature
should decide questions affecting these
he vii
point of other constituents in the home
districts in the states.
II all congressman performed their
constitutional duties as exclusive local
legislators for Washington on the sug-
gested low plane, ignoring or repudiating
any obligation to consider the interests of
the local community confided to their
protection and management as trustees.
and basing every vote in respect to local
concerns solely on the supposed selfish
or ignorant wishes of their home constit-
uents. thousand or two thousand or
three thousand miles away. tie logical
effect of this combined cooperative
hostility would evidently be to depopuate
the District of permanent residents by ae-
priving IT of every attraction to tempt
the resident of state and by imposing
wouk tend to render it uninhabitable
Too much of past legislation for the
District las been in effect. if not in in
tent, hostile and hurtful to it. IL Con-
gress ad wished, in the interest of the
states, to drive out and keep out from
Washington all desirable permanent resi-
dents it could hardly have acted differ
emily on certain lines of legislation. In
the interest of Baltimore. Richmond
Phi adelphia and other neighboring COM
mercial cities it has, historically, discour-
aged Washingtons commercial and in
dustrial growth. 1t has deprived the
Washingtonian of the means of self
support found in the local industries that
develop in the ordinary American city.
II mas concentrated the great local in
dustries. corresponding to the factories,
mills and manufacturing plants of other
cities. in tie hands of the government,
and then by the apportionment-Of-off offices
law shuts out from the classified service
i. these great national-lOcal industries all
who claim Washington as residence in
Guiding the growing youth of the city.
Thus Congress denies the capital great
local industries of its own; 1t shuts out
Westinghouse from the national-local
industries: it drives out from the city
the growing youth that they may find
elsewhere the means of self-support
Having taken these steps to exile labor,
il is now invited to proceed to drive out
capital by enacting an inquisitorial, un-
equal and perjury-promoting form of
personal taxation at a time when the
needed local tax revenues are collected
with minimum OF friction and offense
under system to which the taxpayers
have become accustomed. 1t discouraaes
permanent residence in the District by
eithe- L.. poor Or the rich man by re-
tanning ,he District resident in the status
oI an alien so far representation in
tie national legislature and electoral
college is concerned and in a status
lower than that of an alien according to
the Supreme Court of the United States
in his relation TO the national judiciary
With despotic and exclusive power in its
hands ii taxes the District resident
heavily in view OF the limitations placed
ov II upon his money.earning capacity;
and some of its members then abuse him
as mendicant. Having done so much to
make IL undesirable to live here il Is
now proposed that Congress. through the
imposition OF an unnecessary and drastic
inheritance tax, shall render il unde-
siraole even to die here.
The modern style of smuggler has not
the picturesqueness of the ld-timer who