Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-18
The George Taxation Report.

1he George 1aXatlOn Report.
The District collectively and the aver
age taxpayer in the District want uni
forn.ity of tax assessment and equality
Of distribution of the tax burden, The
administrative changes proposed by the
George subcommittee in it's report to the
House To the end of greater uniformity
of assessment are worthy of serious con-
sideration. and many of them commend
Themselves as in the public interest
More frequent assessments, more asses
sors. more systematic method of uni
versaly applying the same rules of as
sessment are all clearly in the public in
tereS:.
But the George report not only suG-
gests UNEQUAL assessments but vast
under assessments 1t not only proposes
10 correct inequalities. but To increase
the local tax burden. In it's second
phase it makes the positive statement
that the taxable real estate in the Dis
trict of Columbia should he assessed at
$14iGO.U0. an estimate for which there
is no substantial justification and no
equitable warrant =.
While the District, as stated. desires
equalization and will welcome any ad-
ministrative means to that end, 1T de-
MES such gross underv luations as those
alleged by the George committee. and
points TO the records of other cities to
show that Washington is relatively high
" assessed. that it's per capita tax bur-
den is now heavy as compared with other
cities and that there is no warrant for
the statement that the local assessors
have done their work so badly as to fall
to appraise the real estate at a proper
figure.
The George report accepts the state
ment made by its principal witness and
veritable prosecutor. Mr.. Browne, that
the real estate assessment of the District
is less than half of what it should be
and that the census bureau has declared,
or is about to declare, an estimated val
uation of S1,eoO.OO0,O0 I'M the District.
The census bureau, on the other hand.
has made no such estimate, and is on
record to that effect The assertion in
the George report of this immense dis
parity between assessment and value Is
wholly lacking in justification.
The tendency of the report of the Board
of Trade committee on municipal finance.
unanimously adopted at a meeting of the
Board of Trade last night. is to indicate
that the George committee is mfsinform-
ed and has been proceeding on a misun-
derstanding of the local Conditions
pamphlet issued by the Washington
Board of Trade in 1910, bringing up to
date as far as possible the figures of
municipal finance obtained from census
sources and previously published by
that organization. eXhaustively consid-
cred this question of assessment and
taxation. 1t was shown by the figures
obtained from the latest census returns
that the assessed valuation for tax pur-
poses of the assessed and taxed frac-
ton of Washington was in 1905 and
1906 and 1907 greater than that of the
whole of such cities as Cleveland. De-
troit, Cincinnati, Milwaukee. New Or
leans, Newark, Minneapolis, Jersey City,
Louisville and ST. Paul, and was ex-
ceeded only slightly by that of the
populous and rich city of Buffalo. 1t
was then pointed out that comparisons
between Washington and other cities
In regard to the assessed valuation of
realty, for purposes of taxation. should
always be coupled with an understand
ing that the large industrial establish
ments which elsewhere contribute most
heavily to the cities wealth and taxable
property are here in large measure non
existent, save in the form of the gov
ernment departments and mechanical
establishments.
These industries however. are not in
cluded in the assessment. Hence when
Washington is compared in this re-
spect with such busy Industrial CEN
tiers as Detroit. Milwaukee and Cleve-
land where are scores and even hun
dreds Of mills and shops and factories
producing enormous values and giving
employment to great numbers, the
local total of assessment. representing
an almost exclusively non-industrial com
munity, might be expected to show
deficiency On the contrary. the actual
assessment OF Washington in 1907
the latest year Of census returns on
this subject-was more than seventy
eight millions higher than the assess
ment In Cleveland. nearly fourteen mil
lions more than in Detroit and over
ninety millions more than in Milwau-
kee.
In the light Of these figures. the
latest that the census bureau has to
offer on the subject. 1t is unfair for a
committee OF the House of Representa-
tives TO assert in formal report that the
taxable values here In Washington
have been grossly underestimated, and
to cite the census bureau in proof
For those administrative changes
that make for equality recommended
by the George report. Washington will
cooperate practically as a unit But
against the utterly unfounded charge
of gross differentiation for purposes
of tax lodging Washington protests.
and will continue vigorously and with
determination to urge Congress to seek
further information before acting on