Evening star., 1926-12-16
TAX EXPERT RAPS
| $I.0O REALTY LEVY.
Dr.. Thomas Walker Page
LaudS Board of Trade on
/ Proposed Survey.

ne TAX rate OF Hi.ou On Iedi SSAdIc
In the District of Columbia was termed
/. abnormal and ;tbsurdly high by DIR.
Thomas Walker Page. president Of the
Council ,of the Institute of Economics
and nationally known authority on
taxation, in an address before several
hundred members of the Washington
Board of Trade at the New Willard
Hotel last night.
1.-The real estate tax in Washington
is too high. In many States the ac-
tual rate is higher. but the assess.
ments are much lower" declared DIR.
Page, who stated that assessments
here are almost equal to the full mar.
ket value and far in excess of valua-
tions in any of the States and as high
as any city.
In order TO illustrate his point he
took a $4,000 home as his basis and
declared that the present rate of tax
alton here equals IS per cent of the
gross rental of the property and SO
per cent of the net rental obtained
from such priced house.
What would you say if you had an
income tax of So per cent on net earn
ings? And that is what this is" said
DIR. Page.
Government Property CruX.
The speaker declared that it is iu-
possible to assess Government prop
erty here for purposes CT ascertain,
Ing the fair portion TO be contributed
by the United States toward the up
keep of the National Capital because
of the absence of any fair market
value that can he placed on Federal
property. DIR. Page suggested, how
ever, that the District citizens be re-
quired to pay according to their abil-
ity on the basis of the average tax
paid i'm other cities of the country and
that Congress then appropriate the
balance
THE citizens of Washington should
pay no more for the Identification OF
Washington in respect to ii large
number of things than other citizens
of the United States, because many OF
the expenditures here are of as much
benefit to the rest of the country as
they are to WaShingtonianS,' said
the speaker.
Many of the defects in local taxa
ton are the same as those in the
States. said the speaker. DIR. Page
outlined the present sources of taxa
ton exclusive OF non-recurrent reve-
nues, such as fines. etc, as follows:
Real estate tax, license taxes, tax on
intangible property, corporation taxes
and taxes on tangible property.
Advocates Three Types.
Quoting the report of a committee
of tax experts which made a study
of national tax conditions prior to the
war, the speaker advocated that reve-
nue-producing measures should be re-
duced to three types, namely, tax
ON real estate and tangible property,
the use of an income tax instead of
the intangible property tax and a tax
ON net business earnings. He declared
that this would not bring about more
revenue in the District because of the
large amount of non-taxable property
here, such as that owned by the Fed,
eral Government, embassies, etc, but
that it would bring about more just
and equitable distribution of the tax
Burden based ION the capacity to
pay"
: He suggested that the license tax be
revised and amended, that corpora
stions OF other States doing business
here be required to pay local taxes
and business be taxed on its net earn
ings.
In speaking of the local tax rate of
S1SO. DIR. Page said that real estate
taxes would become prohibitive here
IL some change in the system that
made this tax the elastic tax instead
of the stable and fixed tax was not
made.
Compliments Trade Board.
He complimented the Board of
Trade committee on municipal finance
for it's decision to make an eX-
haustive study of the tax and fiscal
situation here. The committee is being
divided into sections, under Joshua
Evans chairman, and will employ
workers for the next two months in
order to make. a very complete study
Of the tax problem here.
After DIR. Page concluded his ad
dress, Representative Upshaw of
Georgia, who was with a number of
Representatives who sat in the audi
ence, rose to his feet and shouted:
sDoctor, can you as the result of
your studies fathom the peculiar fun
damental theory of taxation without
representation which exists here?"
A review of reports made during
the year was made by a number Of
committee chairmen, including Alex
ander Wolf, law committee; A. j..
Driscoll, American ideals committee,
and Frank p. Leetch, rivers and har-
bors committee.
The meeting was concluded with a
buffet supper. Edwin c. Graham,
president Of the board. presided.