Evening star., 1914-03-01
Fixed Rate on Personal Prop
erty Likely to Be Rejected
Over House Approval
SCHEME OF OPPONENTS
OF HALF-AND-HALF PLAN
Proposition to Fix Impost at 81. so a
Hundred Expected to Come Be-
fore Committee Thursday.


that If it is altered by the House District
committee so as to carry with it the
amendments. including fixed tax rate on
personal property. tangible and intangi-
Bile, 1t will not pass the Senate. This is
predicted on the statement that the bill,
as prepared for the committee by the
George special real estate investigating
committee. is the result of two years
close study of conditions in the District
of Columbia.
On the other hand, the personal prop
erty situation has not been studied. A
great field of questions concerning it will
have to be answered before it is ready
to be made into a statute carrying a fixed
tax rate on everything. including real
estate, stocks. bonds, furniture. jewelry,
cash, credits. etc.
Sense of Committee Sounded.
Although the House District committee
has expressed its preference for bill
Carrying a fixed tax rate and a tax on
peisonai property. the bill has not been
amended. The votes taken yesterday
were not on an amendment, but rather on
the sense of the committee.
As far as the form of the bill is con-
introduced. and exactly as it has been
Endorsed by the Commissioners and 9TH
ers. Had an amendment been offered
yesterday it is possible there would
have been no agreement and no vote. 1t
10 evident that many members of the
committee are of many minds concern
ing the details of personal tax. and of
the details concerning an attempt to tax
Intangible property. such as bank ac-
counts, stocks, bonds, etc.
q ttoa oai
day some amendment will probably be
offered. 1t will undoubtedly be the prop
ositiJn to fix the minimum tax rate at
$50 a hundred on everything. real i'd
per:onal.
II this is brought to the floor of tie
House it will be shown by the opponents
of the half-and-half plan of appropra-
ton that the amended bill will yield in
the neighborhood of twelve and half
million dollars. which would be nearly
sufficient to pay the Districts part and
the United, States part of the District
expenses. As characterized by Repre-
sentative George the whole proposal Is a.
scheme to get rid Of the half-and-half
plan.
Report of Committee.
As the George bill was written it would
have equalized taxation in the District,
according to the report on the measure.
and would have raised more taxes than
at present 1t was a surprise to many
that Representative johnson. who signed
the report. and Representative Prouty
have been so persistent in endeavoring to
make a fixed minimum rate and to in
clude personal property.
What will happen to the small home
owner" said member of Congress yes
terday, lis that he will see his tax bill
jumping. He was told that the big fel-
low would have to bear the burden of
the new tax plan because of the theory
that the big fellow had been getting Off
rather easily in his tax bills.
But this new proposition puts tax
on the little fellows house much larger
than heretofore and would tax his saw
ings account. his Investments, his every
thing. Then there is the proposition to
make him pay for streets and sidewalks.
1t simply makes Washington an undesir.
able place for home owners, that is all.
Members of the District committee are
not at all in harmony on the various de-
tails of writing an amendment to include
personal property in the proposed bill.
Some do not favor taxing intangible
property. Others in favor of it cannot
see their way clear to vote for the same
rate for Intangible property as for real
estate or for other personal property. a
few are not i'll favor of including per-
sonal property in the bill at all.
In general the situation last night was
chaotic, as far details are concerned.
Yet the committee certainly is strongly
in favor of the general principle to make
the bill carry personal property.
Fixing Rate Difficult.
One thing overlooked said another
member OF Congress, lis that Congress
will have terrific time trying to fix
q tax rate for the District. The busl-
nesslike thing to do would be to allow
the Commissioners to find out how much
the District needs. make up the estimate
on that information and then submit the
estimates to Congress-
Shortly after the committee adjourned
yesterday Representative Cary of Wis
consin, who is strongly in favor of a per-
sonal tax. introduced resolution calling
on the Commissioners for a detailed list
of the personal property assessments in
he District