Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-05
Obligations of Uncle Sam as
Municipal Taxpayer Demand
Substantial Contribution.
ABSOLUTE CONTROL BY
CONGRESS IMPOSES DUTY
Great Park and Street Areas for
Federal City and Heavy Tax
Exemptions Make for Larger
Liability by Nation.
Editorial Correspondence of The Star.
BY THEODORE w. MOVES.

b 1h6OOOhE w. NJ Els.
| The interesting proposition is now
under discussion of measuring Uncle
Sans financial obligation in Capital
maintenance and devclopment-first by
figuring what he would pay as a mu
nicipal taxpayer on his real and per-
sonaI property, and second by adding
what he would equitably contribute,
personifying the Nation, to Offset ex-
cessive expenditures made and abnor-
NAL losses suffered solely by virtue of
the fact that Washington is not a self
developing commercial city, but the
National Capital. A few items to be
considered in this connection are az
loss of tax revenue on account of ex-
cess above ordinary real property ex-
emptions; ~ cost of excess park ac-
euisiticn and maintenance: (3) cost Of
improving, maintaining and policing an
extraordinary excess of street area; a.
tins equitable obligation to pay literally
ana to assume primary financial re-
sponsibility for the District, based on
the absolute and exclusive control OF the
Districts fiscal affairs by Congress, on
the principle that fiscal obligation fol-
lows power, and (5) the fiscal c5liga-
ton of the Nation to the Capital that
springs from the circumstances Of the
creation and upbuilding of the Nations
city.
When all of these items have been
thoroughly studied and converted into
dollars and cents a very large increase,
amounting to millions, in the national
contribution for Capital upbuilding will
be disclosed as equitable, whether that
just contribution takes the shape Of a
lump sum or Of definite proportionate
contribution in obedience to substantive
law.
u Loss on account of excess Of real
property exemptions.
Table of the Bureau of Efficiency
Report gives for Is cities and Wash
ington total exempt property valuations,
assessed valuation of taxable real proper
ty and ratio of exempt to taxable real
property. Washington (a) includes as
exempt all the real property holdings
of the Federal Government. Park prop
ertv owned by the Federal Government
and Federal property used for the ex-
elusive benefit of Washington are in.
cluded under Other Public Property.
In Washington (b), the park property
owned by the Federal Government and
the Federal property used for the ex-
elusive benefit of Washington only are
included as exempt under Other Public
Property. The remaining Federal Real
Property, valued at $500, ISL OILS, consti-
tutes the item to which the real prop
erty tax rate has been applied in other
tables of the Bureau of Efficiency Re
port.
In this table of 1923 the Bureau of
Efficiency demonstrates wildly the great
excess of tax-exempt property in WASH
ington, due solely to the fact that
Washington is the National Capital, the
Nations city, and indicates convincingly
the many millions of loss suffered an
nually by taxpaying Washington on &C
count of this exceeB Of exemptions, to
be eouitably considered (the Bureau
suggests) as a necessary item in fixing
an adequate contribution by the Ma
tional Government toward the mainte-
nance and upbuilding of the National
Capital.
The following table of a few columns
Of figures taken from Table 5 of the
Bureau of Eficiency's report shows in
respect to each of IL cities and Wash
fngton the total valuation of exempt
real property, the assessed valuation OF
taxable real property and the ratio Of
exempt to taxable real property:
SrurnIfIE nE EXEMPT PR