Evening star., 1920-01-11

munkcipal taxes, including the taxes
ON the sale of liquor and tobacco anu
those. on public utility Corporations
banks and trust companies, Is uis-
tinctly heavier than that OF the
American cities with which WASH
ington is appropriately compared.
This comparison fairly measures 'he
prospective burdens of all city taxes
Washington's burden exceeds ehat "
every one of the neighborlng group
Of cities and of all but one In the
south 10 out of 13 of the northern
oentrad group, and 40 out OF es OF 'he
general group. tr
II equitable proportions oI co.niS
and state taxes representing certai"
Items of county and state eNpehai-
lures from which the city man Gs-
riyes benefits which are cohtPSAt apie
with benefits enjoyed by Washihgtoh,
are added to the tax burdens o. otne,
American cities, Washington per
canit, tax burden is SILL above the
average in comparison with that o.
other cities OF the general group o,
57 cities, 80 are less heavsH bur6eheu
than Washington NOT one ot ~,
neiehboring group. only OF the
southern group, and only out OF e"
of the Northern central group show as
high per capitas as Washington
To measure the tax burden neces-
sary to meet current expenses VI ~
present and those of city deVeiop-
ment of the immediate future Tue
per capita interest payments on m
debtedness representing expenditures
of the past on Improvements, Srait vi
gross eXtravag gance may appfoprlate-
" he deducted in the case of each city
When this is done, Washington TAX
burden TO meet the needs of the pres
cnt and future < distinctly hedFiei
than those of most of the other Amer
lean cities with which it is compar-
able. Not one of :he southern clties
of the neighboring cities, only OUT
of the 13 northern central citles, anu
only 16 out of 81 of the general group
of cities exclusive of washington
are according to this measurement, SO
heavily tax burdened as washington
ruf.fr Inclusion of state Taxes.
washington's city tax burden is SO
heavy that even when compared with
the total city. county. and state TAX
burdens of taxpayers in other cities.
who enjoy state dement's ana priNi
.rleges which are denied the capital, IL
shows up creditably in the comparl-
son. Its showing is still better when
by the subtraction of per capita IN
terest payments the comparison IS
limited to the tax burden necessary
for the present and future e1mlnat-
ing mast graft or waste WashlnS-
toms CITY tax burden alone is heavier
than the combined city, county and
state taxes of such cities as New Or
leans. Denver, Indianapolis. Atlanea'
birmingham and Richmond
When interest payments are eilml-
mated. WashingIon's tax burden (eVen
under the unfair standard OF meas
urement employed against III Is
greater than that of any of the group
of 9 nejghborirg cities. of all but OF
the IL southern cities, and OF all but
of the Is northern central cltles-
Its burden. thus measured, is greater
than that of such cities as Ph1iadei-
phia. Cleveland, Baltimore; aai. Slnclnnait''
Seattle Portland, Jersey City. lndlan-
! apolis and st. Paul.
The grossest unfairnees to Washing
ton in the comparison of Washing
4 tons city taxes with the totai OF city,
county and state taxes in other critics
Is in the inclusion of the general
government" item of state and county
taxes in the tax burden which Wash
ington is to duplicate. Washington
enioys none 90 the privile geS or oene-
Ats of a state or of state government
of it's own. When Washington is part
of a state and enjoys the expenditures
within it of its due share OF the stare
fund which thousands OF state clti-
xens outside of it's limit contribute, 1t
will be equitable to permit full state
taxation to enter into it's comparative
per capita tax figures. When Wash
ington has senator's, representatives
and state legislature and govern
) ynent it will be equitable for it to
pay for the continued enjoyment OF
such luxuries in the shape of state
tax for general government But
II is obviously and grossly 1nequltaDie
for the purpose of this COMPARISON TO
include the amounts which the tax
payers of other cities pay as state
taxes specifically for valuable bene-
fits and precious privileges which are
absolutely denied the Washington1an.
Our Tax burden Should BE Low.
Washington's equitable tax burden
should be among the lowest per capt
to in the country IT is conceded BY
the rea sonable that non-industriaf,
non-commercial Washington, with the
small taxpayers in Government en-
ploy constituting the city's financial
backbone. is poorer in taxable re-
sources than the average American
city of its size and is less able to bear
the same tax burden. or the $500
realty taxpayers in Washington So
600 are small taxpayers, paying IN
taxes from 81 to 800. No other city
has so large percentage OF prop
erty exempt from taxation as the Ma
tional Capital. with a very large frac-
tion of the city's realty held from the
tax list by the United States, and
within that exempted fraction the
city's only great Industrial plants and
factories The extraordinary exemp-
ton Of taxable values makes the
same burden weigh the heavier upon
the taxpaying fraction of the commu-
nifty. No other city. perhaps. has SO
large a percentage of non-taxpaying
transients, who figure in the census.
but not in the tax list, as Washington.
which from it's very nature as the ma
tion's city is unstable and shifting in
population Nearly rs per cent of it's
people are colored. and this fraction
pays a far smaller proportion than
rs per cent of the total taxes. The
disabilities commercial, Industrial
and political. which attach to legal
residence in the nations city tend to
cause those who live within its bound
aries to secure or retain legal resi-
tience elsewhere and to keep on the
cffy's tax list. Thus the non-taxpay-
ing census population. which reduces
the nominal per capita tax levy with
out. in fact, making cash contribu-
tions. is at maximum and the tax
able resources at a minimum. with
the result of serious disadvantage to
the District in per capita comparison
How much per capita OF tax levy
could Philadelphia, Baltimore, New
Orleans. Chicago, Cleveland or Mil
waukee afford to pay IL it's largest
taxpayers. the owners Of it's mills and
manufacturing plants, were omitted
from the calculation: if one-half of
the built-up section of the city were
exempt from taxation, and If an ex
traordinarily large percentage of it's
population were transients or nom
taxpaying for other reasons?
II is conceded also by all reasonable
people that the tax burdens of many
American cities contain factors which
represent conditions not found here.
and that in estimating the equitable,
tax burden of the Washingtonian the
sums representing these factors may
be eliminated. since its government
by Congress, under national safe
guards. prevents graft and renders
Ca