Evening star., 1916-01-07
Plan to Fix Tax Rate.

Plan to Fix Tax Rate.
IT believe. and may incorporate my
ideas in bill, that every year the CEN
aus bureau should take an average of
four cities comparable in size to Wash
| inston and determine the amount of
| money raised in each for public pur-
poses, this to include the state, mu-:
| nicipal and school taxes.
Then the Commissioners should
strike an average out of that, and with
| 4 valuation on property at full figures,
arrange the tax rate accordingly, and
raise the required amount. After that
the government should contribute it's
share.
There is nothing in the claim that
this report wipes out government con-
| tribution.
1t is expressly the opposite However,
/ think 1t will take away all the bick-
erings and quarrels over how much
the United States should pay toward
removing ashes, etc, in Washington.
| So much of the debate on District mat
| ters has been of the character that
surrounds the annual comedy on mile
| age and garden seeds, that hereafter I
| hope that it will allow broad and con-
| structive craftsmanship to have
| chance
| Senator Chiffon of West Virginia, chair
man of the joint select committee, said
| he thought the unanimous report should
bear weight with Congress and that he
| expected its recommendation would be
| enacted into law.
No Special Act Really Needed.
| mo special act really is needed" he
said. "The change in the plan of making
appropriations for the District can be
| carried in the District bill
However, if it should seem advisable
L may draw up a bill embodying the
recommendations of the committee so
as to make them as permanent as pos
;ible.
Il think that the adoption of the plan
suggested by the committee will be a
great help, that it will in the end re-
| duce takes in the District and yet make
greater provisions for the capital; that
1t will blow away a lot of. the chair
winch mas obscured the real situation
in recent years.
Senator John Walter Smith of Mary-
| land. chairman of the District commits
tee OF the Senate, who always has
strongly supported the half-and- half
plan IN the past, today said he did not
Wish TO discuss the report until he had
mad further opportunity to study it,
Mr.. Gallinger Reserves Comment.
Senator Gallinger of New HAMPSHIRE
| for many years chairman of the Dis
trict committee while the republicans
70,
stanch supporter of the existing law.
said he did not wish to criticise the
report of the joint select committee. or
| TO make any comments upon it until
he had been able to analyze the full
| report.
| Il regret, however" he said, that the
joint select committee failed to report
| for fixed ratio of the expenses of
| the capital to be borne by the federal
government. There always is the dan
ger that some pngress. owing to the
| inclined to let the amount raised by
taxation in the District run the local
government The government, how
ever, should pay it's share of the can't
taFs expenses. l always have con-
tended"
The feeling seems to exist that the
proposed new plan of caring for the
District will have to be tried out
and If it is found wanting. the law will
have to be changed again
U. S. to DO More, Not Less.
Reports that members of the House
who have contended in the past that
the taxation In the District was too
low and that the federal government
should pay much less of the expenses
of the District than under the half-and-
half plan, are now contending that the
I Joint select committee,s report yindi-
Gates their attitude, caused some COM
ment by the Senate members of the
I joint committee.
| Senator Chiffon said that on the con-
| trary the report showed that the citi-
zens OF the District are taxed as high
as the citizens of other cities stmiia r
| in size to Washington Instead of pro-
posing that the government do less for
the District than it has in the past, he
said that the report proposes that the
government do more.