Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-21
The Assessment System Indicted.

In the report of the House subcommit-
tee that has just reported the results or
it's inquiry into local assessments ana
taxation i a severe arraignment of the
tax assessors tlat, read by itself and
without a close study of all the testi-
mony. stands as an indictment of serious
failure OF official duty. The first find
ing of the report is that real estate is
assessed irregularly, unScientifically, with
out system. and with gross discrimination
between section and section. between
class and class between land and im
provements."
If this is true in the sense in which
these words convey. tine local assessment
system has been utter failure. amount
ing TO a veritable fraud upon the Dis
trct. Ii is showing of the gravest sort
of Incompetence or worse. Does the sub
committee charge that these faults of
assessment have been due To desire TO
make favor with certain classes of peo-
rle9 What is the possible motive for such
a deliberate and comprehensive system of
faulty assessments?
Nothing appears in the report to throw
light upon this question. Certain deduc-
tions are drawn from a mass of testimony
taken at hearings. covering in the printed
document that accompanies the report
4j6 pages. Such startling finding of
alleged fact calls for specifications. They
are presumably TO be found in the state
ments OF witnesses. Is the subcommittee
assured that every member of the House
will read all of the AS pages of the
Hearings?
1t is easy to generalize in such tech
"a. &c
lead the reader of public document.
The first impression that the reader of
the report receives is that the local as
sessment work has been done not only
badly but in a way TO suggest actual
improperly. Yet there is not one shred
Of evidence to this effect. and not the
least suggestion of questionable pur-
pose
The local assessments have been al
ways open and aboveboard, subject TO
scrutiny and review. Taxpayers have had
ample notice of every new estimate of
value. They have had access to board
which. while not organized perhaps by law
after the most effective way of securing
uniformly equitable revision. nevertheless
afforded clearing house of comparisons
and objections that prevented many mis-
taxes OHe would judge, from the tone
Of the subcommittee opening remarks.
that the assessors had deliberately put
The screws upon the small property hold
ers of the District in order TO tighten the
tax pressure upon the larger ones, and
for no specified or indicated purpose. This
is a most unjust accusation.
Apart from the bearing of this report
upon the assessors themselves, the find
ings of the subcommittee suggest that the
law has been actually ignored in the
valuation of property in the District. 1t
would appear from the report that the
assessors have practically falsfied the
showing of valuations in order to make
"a one-dollar tax rate appear to be one
dollar and half" This must have been
for the purpose of deceivins Congress. Is
this true Government statistics do not
suggest its truth. The test of any taxa
ton and assessment system is the per
capita tax payment OF the people. The
census returns for 190J-6-7, the latest OBJ
tainable federal statistics the subject,
show that the average Washingtonian Is
by no means undertaXed, by any SUCH
process of valuation jugglery as the
House subcommittee alleges. Here are
the per capita tax figures for the Ameri-
can cities of relatively the same size as
Washington for the years named: