Evening star., 1911-08-09
Wrong Kind of Tax Division.

II IL to be hoped that the Board OF
Trade and the Chamber Of Commerce VII
In their consideration of the sidewalks
vault tax proposed by the Commissioners
pitch their expected opposition to II
mainly on the ground of Its virtual IN
fraction Of the 80 per centum cause OF
the organic act of 1878 That 1t is an in
fraction of that clause both in spirit ano
in letter is evident from the text or the
bill itself, which provides that the rentals
collected for the sidewalk vaults shal
be deposited "one-half to the credit oi
the revenues of the District OF Coiumpia
and one-half to the credit of the United
States"
Under this plan the act of 1878 woulo
be reversed. Instead Of the United states
meeting every District dollar OF tax reve-
nue. with a dollar of its own 1t would DC
taking, in respect to this particular tax,
q dollar out of every two dollars coiiecteo
from the citizens. Thus, under the opera
tions of this method of putting the whoie
cost of capital maintenance upon the local
taxpayer, out of every s. raised by side
walk vault rental 81 would go to the
United States to be later returned 10
the appropriations fund to match the
District dollar obtained from the same
source.
This may be considered at the District
building as good business, but II Is un-
deniably bad finance. In the first place,
there is no need Of the additional revenue
unless it is to be matched fully, dollar
for dollar, by federal funds. 1t Is In the
last degree dangerous for the ComInis-
sioners to experiment in full-cost revenue
raising in order to swell the funds. What
guarantee have the District taxpayers
that such an experiment may not lead 10
a proposition by the Commissioners
themselves that some other form of spe-
cific taxation shall be placed on TINS
same inequitable basis. in further con-
trayention of the act of 1878?
Congress has itself done enough in the
way of ftill-cost legislation burdening the
District taxpayer inequitably without the
Commissioners themselves starting on
such a line of endeavor. 1t has. for in
stance, placed the entire cost of the ,ex-
tension of streets upon the District, but
il is to the credit of the Commissioners
who were in Office at the time of this
iniouity that they stood steadfastly in
opposition to this violation of the act Of
partnership agreement Of 1873
Ear beyond the amount of the tax
raised by sidewalk vault rental law does
such a proposal now advanced by the
Commissioners call for emphatic con-
demnation by every citizen. The amount
of money involved is not relatively i'm
portant, though it is in order to note
the fact that the District taxpayer al
ready bears a heavier burden than is
borne by the taxpayer of most other
cities of comparatively the same size as
Washington. Nor is it ever desirable to
raise revenues for general purposes by
specific forms of taxation. If the Com
missioners are disposed to use the side
walks as one means of increasing the
local funds-on whatever basis OF fed
eral sharing Of funds or cost of Dis
trict maintenance-they may be disposed
to tax next the front porches, and who
knows but that in short time. in pur-
suit of this eccentric policy, they will not
suggest the raising Of funds by taxing
roofs and windows?