Evening star., 1914-02-09


half the tax burden resting upon them.
The load-bearer who should suggest
that his burden be doubled because he
had found, as he thought new way
of distributing the weight that would
enable him to carry it more easily,
would be advised to test his discovery on
the half burden he was then carrying.
If he should insist on doubling his
burden first, and testing his new way
of bearing the burden afterward, he
would naturally end in ST. Elizabeth's.
The small taxpayer of today is told
that his salvation is to be secured by
relieving Uncle Sam from his millions
of half contribution toward capital
ton the rich mans millions, invested
in residences. business houses and Of
fice buildings, and by throwing the
whole of the vastly. increased tax bur
den upon land values. including the
land owned by himself as the site of
his little home.
Single Tax Means Multiple Taxes.
The proposition to apply the single-tax
principle to assessments and taxation
means something different here from
what is meant anywhere else. The pri-
mary purpose of the single taxer is not
attained unless the tax on unimproved
land is substituted for other property
taxes and becomes in fact the single tax.
Under certain conditions of land hold
ing the single tax principle is applied
with wonderful public benefits to the
community. But the evil conditions to
be cured by the single tax, are at a mini
mum in Washington. The land here
is not obstinateiy held unimproved by a
few men. selhshly monopolizing great
areas which should be the site of a null
titGde of small homes. The process of
subdivid.ng unimproved land and build
ing upon it has not been too slow, but too
rapid. Washington is overbuilt, as the
multitude of empty houses e,oquentiy
testify. The supply of available cheap
homes largely exceeds the demand.
Experience has shown that the only ef-
feet of single tax agitation in the Dis
trict is, first. to increase assessment and
taxation OF unimproved property without
lessening the tax burden on any other
species of taxable property; and. second.
by raising the standard Of assessments
of unimproved land to start competition
in assessment increases along the whole
line of the varying classes OF taxable
property. In seeking uniformity of as
seSSment tthe vital desideratum) there
invariably results a leveling up, never a
leveling down. always increases of lower
levels to the point of highest standard
and never reduction Of figures as ex-
cessivc in this or that case to bring
about uniformity on lower average
level of assessment. Thus, here, single
tax practically means. not exclusive as
sessment of a single class of property,
but d multiple tax and increased assess
nents on all classes of taxable property.
In local taxation Washington labors
under the disadvantage of neither taxing
Itself nor being represented in the body
which imposes taxation. injustice re-
suits. When municipality or d state or
the nation taxes itself on American prln-
ciples it first ascertains how much money
will b. needed to meet economically the
legitimate municipal or state or national
expenses to be provided for and then
proceeds to raise this amount by taxes
upon Itself of the kind to which tax
PAYERS are most accustomed, and which
will impose the smallest burden that Is
felt upon the individual taxpayer. In
short, the easiest form of taxation in
Viep of local conditions and customs is
applied.
It is not considered necessary on prin-
clple to apply in any one case all forms
Of taxation. One community, like the
District. may most easily raise the bulk
of the necessary money by Il tax ON real
estate. Another may rely largely upon
an income tax and an excise tax. and
real estate is correspondinSly relieVed-
Another, like a few Of the states, gets
much of its public money by a tax on
corporations organized under its laws.
Another derives most of the necessary
revenue from d tax OIL some rich prod
net peculiar to the locality, like nitrate
Of soda in Chile
Nobody who is taxing himself applies
to himself all methods of tax cNaction.
III the case of the District. in which
taxation is devised aud applied by an
outside body III which the local taxpayers
are not represented, the theory seems to
Prevail In some quarters that all forms
Of taxation ever conceived should be I'M
posed upou IL. at least experimcntally.
regardless OF tho question whether the
necessary revenue is not already raised
through the taxes to which the COM
niauity Is accustomed Thence result
! propositions 10 impose new forms of tax
I without however. reducing III proportion
tho present heavy real estate tax. sucf
as proposals to enlarge the scope of per
! soudi taxation. 10 enact ALI inheritance
/ tax. to add an iltcon. tax, to apply for
! specific purposes special taxes outside OF
| those levied under the organic act. In
! city and experiment in taxes. seems tc
/ be urged 10y somebody for application tt
i the helpless District.
! 1t is largely III response To the single
I tax Impulse that recently the realty as
/ sessnent OF Washington has been tenta,
tiN els boosted forty millions and has beer
! rendered more and more excessive II
I comparison with that of other cities.
, has not been accompanied taS ii should
iu accordance with single-taA principles
hy tho abolition of the tax on personait.
and on real estate improvements.
| The result of assessing realty on th
siuSl"-taN pasiS' ana theh instead y
cutting out all other taxes, of enlargins
| them also in proportion, is To give tn,
| Brobdin gnagian hgures of District prop
erty valuation with which Representativ
Crisp. quoting from the George single
tax report has startled this communit,
and Congress.
Crisp Valuation and Census of 1912
NV comments upon these figures in pre-
| v,ous editorial correspondence comparin.
conditions in American cities as show
bv the 1910 census have been criticised a
relying upon other than the latest sta
tistics in making these comparisons TIL
latest national census figures now avail
able are those of 1912. very recently pub
| lished | have tested the later figure
of 1872 by comparison with those of 1916
| as We'll as with Mr Crisp's astounding