Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-01
The Washington Tax Burden.

Lie washing lUU Lax OuluCu.
Since the beginning of the investigation
into District tax assessments by the
House District committee a disposition
has been manifest to demonstrate if pos
sible that the local taxpayer is rated toe
low as 10 his property valuation and that
he is not paving an adequate amount fol-
the support of the municipal government
Attention has been directed to inequalities
in the assessment and they have been
cited as proof of the necessity of higher
scale. There is no question that some
lack OF uniformity exists in the assess
ment. but II is not to he accepted evil
dence that the assessors have failed 10
assess the taxable property in the Dis
trict high enough If there is lack OF
uniformity. II is to be corrected rather
by decreasing the overvaluations than by
increasing the comparative undervalua-
tions.
Two years ago The Star presented in
the course of series of articles strik-
ing demonstration of the fact that the
burden imposed by Congress upon the To-
cal taxpayer is fully as heavy as that
which the average governing Ameri-
can municipality imposes upon itself. The
statistics upon which this demonstration
was based were obtained from the United
States census bulletin, presenting the
municipal finance reports of 1905. 1906
and 1907 For purposes of fair compari-
son a group of thirteen cities was Sc
1ected. the six Immediately above Wash
ington i'm point OF population and the six
Immediately below. These figures are d.
rectly applicable to the situation as it
exists today and in another part of this
issue of The Star a short extract from
the publication of 1910 is reproduced,
which VIII be instructive in its bearing
upon the problem now being studied by
the House District committee.
1t is perfectly evident from these sta
tistics that higher standards of assess
ments are applied by the Washington as
SCISSORS than by those OF any other of the
cities in the Washington group. mas
much as il appears that the Washington
assessors report in the capital, with all its
great industrial establishments belonging
to the government and therefore exempt
from taxation, real estate values Tin 1901
greater than the whole of wealthy. pros
porous. busy. industrial cities like Balti-
more. Cleveland. Detroit, Cincinnati, Mil
waukee. New Orleans, Newark. Minneap-
oils, Jersey City. Louisville and ST. Paul.
The basis of assessment in the thirteen
cities of the Washington group ranges
from ~ per cent to 100 per cent of the
true value. and in order to obtain direct
comparisons II is necessary to raise the
valuations in all the cities to the 100 per
cent basis One of the tables in the
matter reproduced elsewhere today
carries out this computation in terms
which effectually demonstrate the truth
that the local assessors. as a whole, rate
the District property more highly than
do those of any other city In the group.
with the possible exception of Buffalo. 1t
is obvious that with the government prop
critics exempted here from taxation, and
the remainder valued by the assessors
as worth $50. 9S2.251 on the leo per cent
basis. and with the Baltimore assessors
with nothing exempt, finding on the same
basis only 1851. 42l ST. OF real estate
values in that great city, either the Balti-
more assessors have rated the propert.
there TOO low or the Washington assessors
have rated II here too high. So uniform
is this demonstration of high assessment
here as compared with other cities OF
comparable rank with Washington that
il is futile 10 continue 10 urge that any
appreciable portion of the taxable prop
erty In Washington escapes fair and
adequate assessment for rax purposes.
1t has been suggested that If the local
taxable property were assessed at true
value the District could afford TO pay all
its expenses without federal aid 10
withdraw the federal dollars contributed
under the organic act would mean TO
double the local taxation. TO take S.
from every taxpayers pocket where one
is taken now. According TO the census
statistics, heretofore quoted. in 1907 the
District per capita tax was s133:5. higher
than the per capita tax In Newark. MIN
apolis and ST Paul, all OF them buster
and induStrialIy Weather communities
than the capital. The other cities in the
WASHINGTON group range in per capita
tax from S1is6 in Detroit 10 S1a52 In
Cincinnati To double Washington's pei
capita tax. as would he necessary under
abrogation of the organic act would i'm
pose on each person in the District, OF
the 1907 basis. an annual tax burden o
S,GG6. or SI.1i more than that placed
upon the most heavily taxed resident II
any OF the group OF cities with which
Washington i compared. making II ir
truth the most heavily taxed city in the
United States. all conditions considered
exceeded ~ actual per capita tax burdei
only by Boston II is idle furthe
10 suggest. in the light OF these figures
that the Washington taxpayer bears less
than an equitable burden or that he couic
fairly and reasonably be muicted in al
of the cost OF municipal maintenance.