Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-13

| levy or actual total burden, and when
divided by population the per capita tax
| burden is ascertained.
| Mr. Prouty tuggles both tax rate and
assessment. or. rather. he accepts en-
Enthusiastically II. J. Brownies Juggling
with the assessment figures. and juggles
the tax rate on his own account
His table of comparisons Of tax rates,
! hv which he attempts to show that
| Washington's- tax burden is ABOUT one
half that of the average American CITY,
or as 10 to 10. is concocted In a fashion
which instantly and completely dis
credits il.
In addition to the actual figures of tax
rate. assessment and tax levy the census
collected the opinions. estimates, guesses
of municipal officials as to the re-
lation of the assessed to the true
value of property. and then figured
out What the tax rate would be on the
full value of property, IF these estimates.
opinions or cuesses were correct. But
the census authorities knew that these
reports of the relation of assessed to true
value We're almost universally inaccurate
and misleading and that only false con-
illusions could be derived from them And
the census authorities said so. warning
against reliance upon these figures
Census Bulletin 115 Says:
.Reported Basis of Assessment I'm Prac-
tice.-For most cities the hgures shown
IN the table as the reported basis OF as
sessrnent in practice are estimates fur-
nished by local officials of the percentage
which the assessed valuation of property
subject to the general property tax in
those cities forms of its true value. For
certain of the cities of Minnesota, Wash
ineton and Wisconsin the figures given
no .
missions and represent approximately
the proportion that the assessed valuation
bears to the selling value. having been
determined by a critical investigation in
volving comparison between the assess
ed valuations Of property sold and the
considerations received at such sales
The figures for both real and personal
property for most cities outside of
although those for some cities are more
accurate than for others, and those for
real property are more trustworthy than
those for personal
TAX Rates.-The rates of levy given
for the. general property tax are those
per $1,000 of assessed valuation and per
$1,000 of reported true value.
The rates based on the reported true
value are subject to all the errors in
the estimates to which attention was
called in the preceding paragraph"
Mr.. Prouty disregards the real meas
ure of tax burdens, the total and per
capita tax levy. commended as accurate
by the census authorities. and applies to
the tax rate this confessedly grossly mis-
leading factor Of calculation. The result
is worthless as a measure of comparative
tax burdens.
Mr.. Prouty injects into his table an
additional element Of error in adding to
his mills of fictitious tax rate an
allowance for county and state taxes.
1t is shown by thorough discussion in
The Star of December Is. 1913. and
March IA. 1914. that county taxes
enter equitably into these calcula-
lions of city taxes only to a limited ex-
tent, recognized by the census, and state
taxes do not enter properly into the cal
culation at all. any more than national
taxes or the dues and assessments of
some puhlic-spirited village or city i'm
provement association.
AS against Mr. Prouty's unique and
self-made figures. rooted in error and ap-
piled by him in his own way to list of
cities selected by him for that purpose,
Is the census showing concerning compar-
alive tax burdens in the governments
own accredited figures concerning total
and per capita tax levies