Evening star., 1922-12-24
SEE HIGHER REALTY
! VALUATION IN D. C.
New Biennial Property As
SeSsment Will Be Published
on January 2.
TOTAL VALUE Is BASIS
Appeals Will Be Allowed for Six.
Month Period Under
Law.
TOTAL VALUE is BASIS

The new biennial assessment of all
real estate in the District will be
made public January 2 and will show
total valuation in excess of present
figures. it was predicted at the Dis
trict building yesterday.
Oncials OF the assessors ofice were
not in q position yesterday to even
will aggregate. but they freely pre-
dicted It would be greater than the
present total Of 727,000.000.
A staff of employees will work with
their sleeves rolled up this week TO
get the new assessment books fin
ished before New Year day.
So, after the celebrations Of Christ
mas are over and the old year has
been ushe-ed out. taxpayers will be-
gin TO flock to the District building
to find out what value has been put
on their homes.
The new assessment books will be
open for appeals for six months from
January !. Blanks have been pre-
pared at the District building to be
filled in my appellants. Here are
come Of the questions you must an
ever in noting an appeal:
In what year was the property ac-
quired? What was the full consid-
GRAFTON? What do you consider its
true value? state whether the prop
erty was acquired by auction, eN-
change or private sale? Is objection
to the assessment based on the value
CT land or improvement?
When the last assessment was made.
two years ago, the law required only
a two-thirds value for purposes OF
taxation. Congress recently ordained.
however, that property in the Dis
trict must hereafter be assessed at
ftI In L. sy,er hof .t,zs
Congress also directed that taxes be
paid half in November and half in
May of each year. The new legisla-
tion was enacted SO late in tho year
1922 that Assessor Richards found il
impossible to revalue property on a
100 per cent basis in time for the No
yember tax payment.
One-Third Added.
The only thing he could do was TO
arbitrarily add an additional one-third
to the existing two-thirds value as
sessments. The taxes due in MAY
will be based on this makeshift as
sessment.
But the tax bills for the fiscal year
beginning July 1. 1923. will be based
on the new assessments that are to
become public next week.
The rate of taxation to be applied
to the new assessment figures will
not be fixed by the Commissioners
until the appropriation bill. now In
the making, has become law.
Under the new fiscal arrangement
the District must raise from taxation
so per cent Of all appropriations. Thus.
when the appropriation bill has been
enacted the Commissioners and Aud
itor Donovan determine by calcula-
tion what rate applied to the assess
ment figures will produce the re-
quired 60 per cent of appropriations.
This year the tax rate f. $1.30 per
800 of assessed value. What It will
be after July l will depend entirely
on the amount to be appropriated for
the District for next year.
It was predicted at the District
building yesterday that many apart
ment house assessments will be high
er on the new books.
In the case of dwellings. some will
be assessed higher. while others will
be lower, according to the improve
ment or deterioration that has taken
place In each neighborhood since the
last assessment was made.
Millions of dollars worth of
property that Is taxable now will go
on the exempt list after January ].
as the result of having been pur-
chased by the government or by
charitable and religious instit utions
that are not required to pay real
estate taxes.
One Of the most notable instances
Of this kind will be the Center Mar
of the Department of Agriculture.