Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-10-28
The New Realty Assessment.

BY bringing the realty tax assess
rnent up to $3e0.os7.749. by means OF
the triennial revision just completed
and approved by the Commissioners.
the board Of assessors has established
a very high taxation basis for the LIS
trict. which must inevitably Work
hardship upon property owners The
new assessment is s44,913.6o5 higher
than the former one. or almost exactly
g ner cent. Property values in the
District have obviously not increased
10 that extent during the past three
years. Why. then, this remarkable IN
crease in the assessment? The answer
IS not hard to find.
The assessors in making their tri-
ennial revision this time have been
under a tremendous pressure to reacn
high fgure-as high as possible on
ground values-pressure exerted botn
within and without the board itself
on the part of those rho, advocating
the single tax principle. have sought
70 raise the valuation on unImproved
land. or used land regardless OF I'M
provements, to such a point as to GEM
onstrate it's ability to produce a SUM
cheney of tax revenue for municipal
needs. The impulse. in short. mas oeen
toward an assessment of all GROUND
values at the maximum value. to ahoro
basis for possible future single
tax system here, and has not been ac-
companied by reduction in improve
nent valuations, in accordance win
single tax principles
Another powerful pressure on the as
SCISSORS has come from Congress. where
a disposition prevails on the part OF
certain legislators to regard the local
tax assessments as deliberately mace
too low, and who have undisguisedly
sought to boost them to such point
of revenue production, regardless OF
real values, that they would by their
results in taxation appear to JUSTIFY
the abrogation of the federal cohtriou-
ton to the Districts maintenance I'M
der the half-and-half principle or the
organic act
The extreme height to which the a.
SCISSORS working under this pressure
have brought the valuations has been
demonstrated by the appeals and other
complaints filed against the findings
These appeals and protests have not all
come from the large property owners.
who have been especially hard hit by
i
regular. uneven assessments has in
variably taken the shape of an increase
Of underassessments instead of q de-
crease of overassessments, with the re-
suit of asgravating a general standard
of assessment valuation already too
high, and burdensome to small and large
taxed properties alike.
This new assessment practically puts
the properties of the District upon a
full-value taxation basis. 1t approaches,
at all events, so close to that point I'M
der normal conditions that a depression
of buying activities, such as that which
is being just at present experienced.
causes the tax valuation to approx
mate and even in many cases to ex-
coed the point at which the property
could be sold. This is an altogether
unjust condition. 1t puts Washing
ton in a conspicuous place among
American cities in the matter of it's
taxation basis. bringing the local assess
ment closer to full valuation than in
any other community.
1t is notorious that tax assessments
in cities that proclaim 100 per cent
valuations are. in fact. far below that
point. It has been asserted by those
who have closely studied municipal
taxation on a comparative basis that
so-called 100 per cent assessments are
much nearer so per cent than full vaiua-
ton. Washington at tvo-thirds is
in truth. closer to the 100 per cent
basis than are Baltimore. Cincinnati
Newark. Jersey City and Providence, all
Of which are theoretically assessed at
that rate.
To prove the extreme height to which
the Washington assessment has been
raised. the following figures are given,
the assessments in all cases, save Wash
ington. being those reported in the
latest available federal census bulIe-
tin. giving statistics for 1912, the cities
arranged in rank of population:
Assessment,
. 100 per cent
NY Rate. basis.
baltimore 81 Eno