Evening star., 1922-05-09
Rate by Mail-Payable i'm Advance.
MARYLAND and Virginia.
Amend Amendment One!

The amendment attached by the
Senate appropriations committee to
the fiscal relations amendment of the
District bill carries that measure back
To the House. While the Senate is
amending this amendment why not
amend it in way to improve and
strengthen it, to clarity it and to re-
lieve it of threats of vital injury that
are not intended? For example, the
amendment as it is now worded as
sumes that the District has no pres
ent tax surplus. that the tive-million
surplus is non-existent. and that IN
1928, as in 1922, the District taxes
will be paid at the end instead of the
beginning of the fiscal year. In order,
therefore, that the District may be on
the cash.paying basis from July /,
1928, and to avoid advances by the
United States to the District for ten
or eleven months of the year, the Com
nnssioners are directed by increased
taxation during the years 1928 to 1921,
inclusive, to accumulate surplus
sufficient to supply in advance the,
money to pay the Districts share Of
capital expenditures for ten or eleven
months of the year. The authorities
have estimated that to raise such
surplus contribution between two
and three millions would be necessary
from the taxpayers of each of the five
years between 1928 and 1928.
But explanations make it clear that
Congress intends before 1928 to
change the date or dates of paying
District taxes so that the amount OF
surplus necessary to put the District
on a cash basis in 1928 will be reduced
to a minimum. OF course. if the first
payment of taxes was at the very be-
ginning of the year there would be no
need of any cash-basis surplus what
ever. 1t also appears that Congress
does not repudiate the existing tax
surplus. but will appoint a commits
sion to determine its existence and
amount.
1t being the purpose of Congress to
put the District on the cash basis, the
obvious way to do so is by means OF
the appropriation act now pending, al
ready utilized for a legislative pro
posal. Instead of directing tax in
creases for five years to accumulate
the surplus to insure full years
District funds, let the amendment now
under consideration be amended to eff
feet the change of tax collections. Let
Congress itself change the dates. by
specific provision in the appropriation
bill, or authorize the Commissioners
to change them.
Let amendment No. l" he made to
read that the Commissioners shall. by
changing the dates of tax payments, Z.
at their own discretion or by specific
direction. or by the utilization of such
surplus funds already in hand as shall
be declared by Congress meanwhile
to be an available District credit. ac-
cunulate by the first Of July, 1928,
enough District revenues in the Treas
ury to insure cash payments on its
side of the 6O-40 division of municipal
costs.
The whole purpose of amendment
No. l. is to put the District on a
cash basis. 1t is ''legislation,' and
having been ruled in order is it not
also in order to perfect the plan by
} providing for the most equitable
method of assuring the accumulation
by July /, 1928, of the necessary funds
for the pay-as-you-go meeting of
drafts upon the Treasury for District
maintenance?
The District does not object to the
plan Of putting it on a cash basis. 1t
does object to unnecessary tax in
creases to that end. 1t believes that
il Congress feels that it should have
available for immediate use all the
funds it requires for its share of the
cost of capital maintenance it is only
necessary to collect the taxes in ad-
vance and to make available for real
surplus purposes the actual surplus Of
unappropriated District funds now
living in the Treasury