Evening star., 1922-07-19
The Tax Burden.

There is no occasion for alarm on
the part of the property owners of
the District on the score OF possible
further increases in the tax burden
this year in the course of the readjust
ment. OF valuation and rates under
the new fiscal law. That law requires
the Commissioners to assess the real
property for tax purposes at 100 per
cent as against the 66 2-3 per cent
that has hitherto prevailed. 1t
Furthermore requires them to fix a tax
rate that will yield sufficient, over and
above annual appropriations, to pro-
duce a surplus, by the 1st of July,
1927. that will enable the District to
meet it's appropriation acquisitions out
Of its own cash. The Commissioners.
interpreting this law as mandate for
immediate increase have fixed the
rate at $3.50 per hundred dollars.
which, they estimate. will yield about
$500. 900 more than the 60 per. cent of
the current fiscal years appropriation
for five months Of the fiscal year: that
is. about one-twelfth of the fund that
will be required to be in hand July
| 1, 1927.
In fixing this rate the Commission
ers had of necessity to adopt a general
rule. They were faced with the re-
quirement to bring the assessment up
to 100 per cent. 1t is undoubtedly true
that in some instances real property
is assessed at more than two-thirds Of
the real value. 1t does not, however.
follow that in the advance to 100 per
cent valuation these properties will go
! on in proportion to point beyond 100
per cent. and will. therefore. be over
taxed in discrimination. Indeed. the
very process of advancing the assess
ment to 100 per cent will cure these
determinations, enabling the assessors
to eQualiZe valuations.
1t follows that if there are numerous
cases Of everassessment on the 66 %
basis, and these are advanced strictly
, to the 100 per cent point, the $1.30
rate now estimated will not quite yield
the amount calculated as this years
contribution to the cash-basis surplus.
But that will be but one Of several
| factors Of possible variance. The Com
missioners are only technically re-
! quired to begin the process Of cash
basis surplus accumulation immedi-
ately, and the advance of tax yield
this year is to be regarded as in the
way of experiment, a tryout. 1t is not
known. for instance. just how the
semi-annual payment plan will work.
for certain taxes are not required to
be paid twice year, such as those on
gross earnings of corporations. Again
an element Of uncertainty is present
in the case Of the personal taxes, both
tangible and intangible. The former,
remaining at full valuation, will be
affected by the decreased rates. The
latter. with a higher rate. may yield
even less than at the lower rate. ow-
ing to the disposition toward conceal
ment that manifests itself whenever
an unjustly high rate is applied to
this class OF property.
Taking these various matters into
consideration. plainly the wise course
has been to proceed conservatively in
the matter of additional tax-raising
especially as it is probable that as a
result of the inquiry now under way
by the joint committee the District
will be given the benefit Of some part
of the surplus of its own funds now
lying in the Treasury. Application Of
any part Of this surplus approximat-
ing $5,000.000 will lessen the cash
basis surplus requirements through
additional taxation. There is thus
prospect that the rate Of increase now
established by the adoption Of the
s1.30 tax rate as applied to the 100
per cent valuation will not be in
creased during the five years of ac-
cumulation. but that il may be de-
creased.