Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-08
DOUBLING TAXES
IN WASHINGTON
CONTINUED from First Page.)

pressive lesson in progressive and de-
structive tax boosting.
| Washington's actual assessment OF isiI
! is over thirteen million dollars more than
1 that of Detroit and over one hundred
and sixty millions more than that OF New
I Orleans. nearly doubling the assessment
1 OF that CITY, on the full valuation basis
proposed By the pending bill v ashinston
4 would be assessed at ST., So. Us more
/ than Baltimore. on the valuation OF
STA 100000 suggested by the George tax
report OF 1912 Washington would pc val
ued at more than Baltimore and Mime
apolis combined. twice as much as Bal
timore and over Sl70OOo0o more than
New Orleans. st. Paul and Louisville
| combined.
Long before the peak OF this mountain
+, of tax burden was reached all real value
would be assessed out of Washington
realty. The higher its valuation for ex-
cessive taxation. the lower Its value LOT
sale. until at last it becomes raiueless
Startlingly Excessive Tax Levy.
MIR Brownies total assessment and tax
! levy. compared with that of other cities.
| is startlingly excessive Washington
| would raise in taxes from its S144.OoO,O OO
Of realty alone in 1912 Sill. 10000. The
taxed fraction OF resourceless Washington
would thus raise from its realty alone
| more than was raised on realty and per-
sonalty combined in 1912 by the great
rich and prosperous industrial cities of
Cleveland (total levy. S1oo19.So7). Balti-
more (SSs43.O 900. Detroit lS9.677.5 500. Buff
faIo (S9,429 1919, San Francisco $50. 46S.
7OD. Milwaukee ($6,S59, 113). Cincinnati
(T,5S3, $50, Los Angeles ($6. 1SI.I0SD, New
ark (S6, $40, 602) and New Orleans ($o. Isl,
ED, all larger cities with far more re-
sources than Washington. The taxed
fraction of the capital would under the
II. ]. Browne valuation pay more taxes
on its realty alone than the realty and
personally levies Of Minneapolis G5,692,
2AD and Jersey City ($3.57O.s54) combined
a little less than Seattle (s4.3O7 .235). Kan
sas City Isl. $3.50 and Indianapolis 49,
466, 1850 combined; about three times as
much as the total tax of Indianapolis, or
Providence, or Rochester. or Denver, or
Louisville: over four times as much as
the total levy of st. Paul and nearly six
times as much as the total levy OF At
lanta.
The local taxpayers of Washington
actually raised in 1872 a total levy Of
S5.39S.9 and to do SO endured the bur-
den of per capita tax levy Of $3.50 a
greater tax burden than that imposed
upon lat out of the 1874 American cities.
II. j. Browne proposed offhand to more
than double that per capita tax levy by
the tax on realty alone, and to make
Washington's per capita tax levy much
greater than that of any other American
city. more even than New York with its
vast wealth and Its assessed SaluduOn or
50, Iii, 435, 60
Evidently Mr.. Browne does not value
Washington in this estimate in accord
| ance with the standards of valuation used
in other cities The underassessments al
legged by Mr.. Browne relate to ground
values. As loyal single-taxer Mr.
Browne thinks that all such values so far
as private ownership is concerned are
rightfully SO excessively assessed and
taxed as to bring about confiscation by
the state. Mr.. Browne as a single-taxer
estimates ground values naturally on this
confiscatory basis, and his S744,OU0.OOO es-
innate for Washington is obviously con-
tiscatory.
Why should not Mr.. George drop Mr..
Brownies contention of fabulous realty
values in Washington. cut out the full
valuation proposition as unnecessary and
injurious under existing conditions, and
work vigorously for those propositions OF
the George bill Qike that for more nu-
merous assistant assessors and more fire.
quent asSesSments) which promise great
er uniformity and equality Of assessment
for the distinct be--eht of all the people OF
Washington?
Uniformity and equality Of assessment
can be secured just as easily under a
two-thirds nominal valuation as under a
nominal full valuation The latter is as
certained primarily IN both cases. To Tx
the former standard one divides by three
the full valuation and multiples by two.
IL the Iuil VALUATION Is accurate ana uni
form, the two-thirds valuation is equally
accurate and uniform, unless one makes
an error in dividing by three and multi
plying by two.
Unnecessary New Tax Burdens.
The second increase Of the local tax
burden IL urged on the ground that
Intangible personality MUST be dras-
tically taxed in the District, even II q
tax levy heavy as that imposed in
other cities 10 raised locally without
this tax, and even IL the community
prefers to raise the necessary tax rev
enue by other methods Of taxation.
Usually Americans tax themselves for
specific purposes, in the way most easily
borne by them, with an accurate adjust
ment of rate and assessment to raise
as nearly as possible the exact amount
required. Here the necessary tax total
under the law Is one-half of the amount
that Congress Is willing to authorize to
be expended each year on the National
Capital. Washington is accustomed to
raise this amount by a heavy realty tax.
under an assessment much higher than
that OF the average American city, and
by comparatively light personal tax
This method Of taxation imposes, as we
have seen. a net burden OF tax levy upon
the Washingtonian heavier than that i'm
posed upon the vast majority of Ameri-
can cities containing over 10000 popula-
ton and at least as heavy as that of the
average American city approximating
Washington in population; and this tax
system raises the amount of revenue
which is and will be required from the
local taxpayers under the organic act.
Why NEEDLE with this system to which
taxpayers have become accustomed and
which raises the needed revenue? Why
discuss an Increase of the comparatively
light personal tax burden. for instance.
unless a corresponding reduction is pro-
posed in the excessively high real estate
tax burden? Why suggest that the per-
sonal tax assessment be extended to in
taxpayers prefer that the revenues be
raised from realty and tangible personal