Evening star., 1922-07-30
DISTRICT MOTORISTS MAY ASK
HEARING ON GAS TAX SCHEME
Car Owners Seem Unwilling
to Have Question Settled by Dictation
From State Hostile to D. C. Autoiists.

2-cent-a-g gallon gasoline taxation plan
TO become effective January !. 1924.
IL is made quite plain that Dis
| trict motorists in order to use Mary
| land roads would not have to buy a
| Maryland state automobile tag at so
cents per horsepower, as they do at
present.
But 1t is not made plain whether
District motorists would have to buy
a Maryland identification tag at a
nominal figure.
TitlinK Feature Vague.
| Nor it is stated anywhere that the
Maryland titling feature. which has
and of no great benefit to District
| motorists. would he eliminated.
Nor, as put by a. veteran motorist.
is there any guarantee Of freedom
| from the harassing attentions of
Maryland road agents or the inso-
| lence of the Maryland registration
office in the District of Columbia.
These have long been the cause of
bitter resentment.
On the surface the plan seems to
he built upon very common sense
theory that on a gasoline tax basis
each motorist would pay according
to the amount of motoring he does.
But IA twO-cent-a-gallOn gasoline
tax does not hold any benefits for the
District motorist who operates his car
| exclusively within the District Of Co
lumbia.
One Washington merchant, who
operates three small cars solely
within the District. asked why his
annual tax of these cars should be
increased from So to approximately
SEQ. The answer is to obtain
reciprocity with Maryland under the
merchant under the proposed plan
would be Obliged to pay this increase
in taxation, as another motorist points
out. solely to protect Maryland in
collecting a gasoline tax which she
imposed to suit her own particular
purposes.
To some considerable extent there ex-
lists the feeling that the District ought
10 adopt the gasoline tax as proposed
by Maryland in order to gain the reci-
proci;y feature: and then rcadjust other
local automobile taxation to eQualize
the District increase. which. on a small
car, will run from $3 to about $50 This
should be accomplished. it, has been
pointed out, by letting 2 cents a gallon
en- gas cover both operating fee and
personal tax. That is. cents a gallon
on gasoline would eliminate the pres
ent horsepower tax and serve in lieu Of
the personal tax now paid on automo-
bies Computation OF this method. it
Is said. will show that District revenues
would still gain rather than suffer a de-
crease.
That the plan of putting a tax on
gasoline has many favorable points
is admitted by a large number of
car owners 1t is generally considered
equitable because the man who
travels only 5000 miles annually does
not have to pay SO much as the man
who travels $1,000.
One Cent May BE Enough.
But the idea of paying iwo-cent-
a-gallon tax just to please the state
of Maryland, when one cent "a
gallon tax in the District would pro-
vide even more revenue sfor the
District than does the present horse
power tax does not appea 70 the
thinking automobilist. This iE the
obstacle against which may he dashed
the hopes of those who urge ac-
ceptance of Maryland's terHfs.
Should the District adopt fhe two
cent-a gallon tax it could not be made
100 per cent effective unless the
state of Virginia also adopted the
same tax. And If Virginia should
work out and adopt such tax. it is
pointed out that Virginia's revenue
measure could not be made fully
effective unless the bordering states
adopted a similar tax.
And so. opponents of the plan set
forth. the gasoline tax plan would
soon spread over the entire country
and would have to be on the same
basis in each state, irrespective Of