Evening star., 1922-05-07

constituting the city's financial back.
bone, is. poorer in taxable resources
than the average American city of its
size and is less able to bear the same
tax burden. OF the 10000 realty tax
payers in Washington, 10000 are small
taxpayers, paying in taxes from 81 to
e106. No other city has SO large per-
eentage of property exempt from taxa
ton as the National Capital, with 8
very large fraction of the city's realty
held from the tax list by the United
States, and within that exempted frac:
tien the city's only great industrial
plants and factories. The extraordi-
nary exemption of taxable values
makes the same burden weigh the
heavier upon the taxpaying fraction OF
the community. No other city, per-
haps, has SO large percentage of nom
taxpaying transients, who figure in the
census but not in the tax list, as Wash
inston, which from its very nature as
the nations city is somewhat shift
ing in population. Nearly 26 per cent
of its people arc colored, and this frac-
ton pays a far smaller proportion
than 20 per cent of the total taxes.
The disabilities, commercial, industrial
and political, which attach to legal
residence in the nations city tend to
cause those who live within its bound
aries to secure or retain legal resi-
denee elsewhere and to keep off the
eity'st tax list, Thus the non,taxpay-
ing census population, which reduces
tho nominal per capita tax levy with
out, i'll fact, making cash contribu
tons, is at maximum and the taxable
resources al u minimum, with the re-
suit of serious disadvantage, to the Dis
triet in per capita comparison. How
much per capita of tax levy could
Minneapolis or amy other Of our great
cities afford to pay if its larg-
est taxpayers. the owners of its mills
aud manufacturing plants, were omit
ted from the calculation; if one-half
of the built,up section of the city were
exempt from taxation, and if an ex-
traordinarily large percentage Of its
population were transients or non-ta
paying for other reasonss .
1t is conceded also by all reasonable
people that the tax burdens Of many
American cities contain factors which
represent conditions not found here,
and that in estimating the equitable
tax burden of the Washingtonian the
sums representing these factors may
be eliminated, since its government by
Congress, under national safeguards,
prevents graft and renders unneees-
sary and unfair any compulsory local
tax contribution to-meet expenses of
this character. There are also certain
expenses of sustaining representative
government in the States which do not
need to be raised by Washington,
since it is denied all representative
government, and which ought snot to
he duplicated in figuring its equitable
tax burden. 1t is conceded that ON the
whole the Washingtonian's equitable per
capita tax burden should be somewhat
less than that Of the citizens Of the
average industrial, commercial Ameri-
can city approximating Washington in
size, location and general conditions. ;.
The burden imposed by Congress
upon the local taxpayers is fully as
heavy as that which the average self
governing municipality imposes upon
itself, and in view Of the capitals lack
Of taxable resources aud other pecul-
lar disabilities under which the Dis
trict of Columbia labors its tax is
harder to bear than that of the aver
sge American community.