Evening star., 1922-05-15
False Pretense of Full Valuation

without q word Of warning and
without the slightest opportunity for
an expression Of local public senti-
ment on the subject. Congress has
already in effect changed by law the
standard Of District tax assessment
of realty from not less than two
thirds to full valuation. For the
record Washington makes post-mor-
tenn protest.
The District assessor assesses in
practice up to and on the average
slightly beyond the two-thirds mini
mum valuation. This faithfulness in
be applied to the assessment roll to
produce the necessary tax revenue,
until the Districts tax rate already
seems low when compared with the
rates Of many other cities, which
with nominal full valuation assess
ment actually assess only IRON rom ~ yu 10 20
correspondingly increase their tax
rates to secure the needed revenue.
If the District Is put upon the full
valuation basis, it will go there, not
only nominally, but In fact' ana IN
comparison with other cities whose
low assessments require high tax
rates Washington's still further low
cred tax rate to conform to the IN
creased assessment valuation will by
its smallness elicit additional hostile
comment, and the District will be put
even more on the defensive against
the charge that. measured Dy M tne
false standard of its comparative TAX
rate, it Is undertaxed.
If the District tax rate Is re.
duced to conform to the increase OF
assessment valuation the revenue re-
suit will be the same, and no practl-
cal benefit will be derived from tne
unsettlement and hurtful coniusioLl
of the Districts assessment ana TAX
rate figures.
to correct Inequalities OF assessment !
as between properties OF small anu
great value. II unfair dtscrtmina-
tions are made in assessing pom
properties at twO-thirds OF the,. !,
value the same dfscriminatiohs WI.
be made by the same assessors In
assessing both Mt their full value.
If, on the other hand, the tax rate
is not thus decreased, the TAX on
realty will be increased In some per
centage up to so per cent as tne
maximum. In comparison win oener
typical and comparable cities WASH
ington's realty is already too heavily
taxed, and the suggested increase OF
this tax up to a maximum or oO per
cent threatens disaster in these Gays
of heavy financial burdens ana nlgn
cost of living. especially to the small
property owners and taxpayers OF
per year Of tax, who number bO,OOO.
Thus the change of standard at Its
best will do NO good, and at its worst
will do great harm.
~ + X
In 1914 the increase of the standard
Of assessment to full valuation was
proposed openly In the regular way
by a bill considered by the House
District committee. Opportunity to
express community opinion concern
ing the proposed legislation. was
given, and the proposal to change
the standard of tax assessment got
nowhere.
Washington's 1914 protest against
this change of standard, as voiced in
editorial correspondence of The Star,
may be considered for a moment in
view Of the denial of opportunity to
protest against a similar proposal
In 1914 .washineton's defenders
Uniformity can be as readily secured
by using the two-thirds basis Of as
sessment ms by using the so-cailed
full valuation basis, and uniformity
is the only vital essential OF Just
assessment.
Full valuation for assessme mt
means full and true valuation for
sale nowhere in the United States.
Reports to the census OF q 100 per
cent assessment valuation, II con-
strued to mean 100 per cent valua-
tiOn between buyer and seller, are
false and misleading. Failure to ap-
preciate this fact IL all that has pre-
vented quick and full recognition of
the gross Overassessment of WASH
ington realty in comparison with
that Of other cities. The same fall
ure is responsible for the determined
efforts to raise WashinEton's assess
ment basis to the so-called full valua-
tion, even though TINT change threat
ems a so per cent increase Of the al
ready heavy burden OF taxation.
Except i'm a few cities of the states
of Minnesota, Warrington and Wis.,
conxin, the census-reported relations
OF assessed to true value are slurred
as incorrect by the census authori-
nicipal ohicials. Influenced by n nat
ural impulse to exaggerate the re-
ported percentage relation. Since
these reports are inaccurate and mis-
leading, the census calculations OF
tax.rate on true valuation based upon
them are tainted with the same error,
and are absolutely worthless as a
tax-burdens. The census authOrftfea
make clear the unreliability OF these
stattstfcs and OF the inferences and
deductions from them.
The only reliable measure OF COM
Darative tax-burdens fs the per cap
ita tax-levy.
If the taxpayers of a community
have absolute control of the tax-rate.
and that rate is flexible and easily
and quickly altered, it Is entirely
immaterial, SO far as the community
is concerned. whether the assessment
is at nominal full valuation, or two
thirds, or one-half, or one-quarter
valuation, provided this basis is ap-
piled with absolute uniformity to all
property. The tax-rate goes up or
down in inverse ratio to the assess
ment to produce the amount of money
penses. Under these conditions the
nominal 100 per cent valuation is the
simplest, since it must first be ascer-
tanned before the fractional bases
can be calculated.
But the conditions which. prevail in
the District remove 1t from the cate
rory of citiessin which this slight ad-
Vantage of full valuation over other
valuations is enjoyed.
The tax-rate is not fixed by the tax
payers, but by Congress. The amount
of money to be raised through the To-
cal taxpayers contribution toward
National Capital maintenance is fixed
not by those taxpayers, put by Con-
rress, The nation, through Congress
viii not, as long as it participates in
National Capital maintenance and up
building, surrender the power to fix
the national and, local contributions
for thecapitars upkeep, and to this