Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-02-17
Districts Taxation Valuations
Not as Low as Claimed.
SHOWN BY COMPARISONS
Census Figures Prove Capitals As
SCISSORS Do Their Work Fairly.
NO BIG MANUFACTURERS HERE
Taxed Fraction of Washington Bears
Heavy Load in Maintaining
Local Government.

Whenever the matter of District tax
alton is under discussion in the House OF
Representatives the charge is advanced.
to meet the demonstration that Washing
tons taxes high in comparison with
those of other cities, that the local assess
ors 30 not place a sufficiently high vau-
alton upon taxable property i'm the Dis
trict, stress being laid upon the fact that
the assessments are on the basis of &c 2-3
per cent of the true valuation. AS a
matter of fact the Washington assessors
have done their work conscientiously to
the effect of returning valuations which,
when compared with those returned by
assessors in other cities, are high. This
| matter was treated at some length in
the Board of Trade pamphlet on FL
nances of the National Capital Partner
ship, by Theodore ". Moves, originally
issued in 1898, and reprinted in 1910, to
include the latest census figures of munic-
ipal finance. Inasmuch as this subject
is again in the public mind, owing to the
pendency of the District appropriation
bill in the Senate, an extract from that
pamphlet is herewith reproduced, show
ing comparative real estate assessments
in 1.D5-G-1, the latest obtainable census
figures, in the cities which range i'm
med :ately above and below Washington
in point of population. these being most
suitable for any such comparisons:
Have the Washington assessors done
their work properly? Doubtless there are
inequalities which need to be equalized.
These exist everywhere; but the tenure of
office and the independence of local in
f1uence given by law to the local assessor
tend to reduce to a minimum such in
! equalities in the District. Uniformity
| of assessment is secured by reducing
overvaluations as well as by raising
| undervaluations. But practically when
any assessments are once placed on too
high q basis they remain there and the
struggle is to bring other. classes up to
| the same standard. Successive local tax
agitations and Investigations by Congress
! have in general had the effect of prodding
| the assessors to high assessments of spe
| cial classes OF property. Representative
Tom johnson of Ohio of single tax fame
as an active member of the District COM
| mttee, stirred the assessors into high
| assessments of unimproved property, with
| its unearned increment. Representative
Odell of New York, another tax investi-
gator, stiffened assessment lines other
| classes of property. And so on. The ag-
gregate assessments of Washington prop
erty report far more in value here in
comparison with rich and populous cities
than the facts can possibly warrant That
| is, if the assessments here are not eX-
| ceSSive those of other cities are under
| valuations.
Thus in order to make the e62a per cent
assessment of s255,324,S34 in 1907, the
| Washington assessor reports real estate
| in Washington in local owners and tax
payers of S3S2, $50 251 Calculating all the
| cities of the Washington group on the
100 per cent basis in 1905. 1906 and 1897.
We get extraordinary results.