Evening star., 1922-05-05
100000 to Run
so Years, Plan of
Commissioners.
LETTER ADVOCATES
TAX INSTALLMENTS
Urges Using $5,OOO,O 900
Surplus as Working
Capital.

After a week of careful study, the
District Commissioners today for
warded to Congress a compromise
plan by which the city government
could be put on a cash basis without
so heavy a tax burden as would re-
suit from the proposed amendment to
the District Appropriation bill. as
agreed upon in conference.
In substance. the plan which the
conferees agreed on would require
the people of the District to raise
s3,000,000 a year for five years in
excess Of current appropriations. SO
that at the end Of that time the Dis
trict would be on a cash basis. At
the present time the District borrows
from the federal Treasury during the
first ten months of the fiscal year and
reimburses the Treasury when taxes
are collected, in May.
InadvisabIe and InequitabIe.
The Commissioners. in their first
public uttersnce on the tax question,
say they have no fault to find with
the desire to put the city on cash
basis, but they declare it is ''inadvis-
able and inequitable" to require the
residents of Washington to accom-
plish so large a task in the short
space Of five years. The compromise
of the Commissioners is, briefly. rs
follows:
First, use the approximately $5,ooo,-
600 OF surplus District revenue now
in the Treasury as the foundation for
a working capital account
Second, permit the District to issue
be retired gradually over . period of
fifty years.
Third, change the existing law SO
that property owners will be required
to pay half their taxes in November
and half in May, instead of paying
the full amount in May.
Proposal Sent to Congress.
The Commissioners sent q copy Of
their proposal to Senator Phipps yes
-terday afternoon and to Representa-
tive Charles R. Davis this morning.
The letter follows:
There has been so much public dis
cussion regarding the proposed
change in the fiscal relations hereto
fore existing between the federal
government and the District OF Co.
lumbia that the Commissioners feel
called upon to present their views.
I'm the past at hearings on the Dis
trict of Columbia appropriation bill.
as well as on other occasions, It has
frequently been asserted, apparently
in criticism of the present fiscal re-
lations, that the tax rate in the Dis
trict of Columbia was lower than In
,fh rif nf
ing size. While this may be soI never;
theless the tax rate has in recent
years been more than sufficient to
produce revenue adequate to defray
the Districts portion OF the public ex-
penditures. authorised by Congress-. to
be made in the District of Columbia.
To raise anything more than this.
while it might reduce the disparity
between the tax rate in the District
Of Columbia and other cities, would
quite obviously be productive OF NC
useful result, but would merely lead
to the accumulation of an idle surplus
in the federal Treasury.
Ready to Accept Decisions.
"At all times the District Commits
sioners have. as is their duty, stood
ready to apply any rate of taxation
that might prove necessary to meet
the obligations of the District OF
Columbia, and If the tax rate is
noticeably low, It is merely because
it has been judged fair that the
United States, which occupies SO
large a part of what might ordinarily
be taxable property in the District
of Columbia. should contribute to-
ward the cost of its government.
Had appropriations for the District
of Columbia been larger the tax rate
would have been correspondingly
higher. though not necessarily equiv
alent to that prevailing in other
jurisdictions, the difference in favor
of the District of Columbia being
due. in the first instance, to the quite
equitable participation of the federal
government in the payment of the
expenses of the city and. second, to
the fact that the government of the
city is conducted upon a very eco
nomical basis, especially SO far as
concerns the salaries of its i'm
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