Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-03

ington. Opposite each of the Washingt
so much property exempt from assess
ment and taxation as Washington (a)
with its hundreds Of millions Of ex-
empted Government property. Wash
ington (a) is denied the millions of tax
ables in the shane of great industrial
plants which the large commercial cities
enjoy. Here Uncle Sam, exempt from
taxation, is the great employer and
industrial plant owner. Since only q
fraction Of Washington is assessed and
taxed, and since its exempt fraction con-
tains its greatest industrial plants, the
assessed valuation of Washington should
be comparatively low. In fact, however,
owing to higher standards of assessment
and to the inclusion of more taxableS on
its assessment roll, Washington heads
the list among the cities of its size, and
equals or surpasSes that Of many larger,
richer cities.
Incredible Conclusions.
Who is there i'm all the world who
believes that if taxables were listed for
taxation with the same fullnesS and II
the same standards of assessment were
applied i'm these other cities that are
applied in Washington these compare
tive valuations would result? Who
believes that the taxables of a fraction
of Washington with a population OF
distinctly moderate means, lacking
multimillionaireS and costly industrial
plants, i'm fact exceed i'm value the tax
ables of the whole Of larger, richer St
Louis? Or more than those of Newark
and New Orleans combined? Or more
E1ox nf nvNM1 v1s
and indianapolis combined?
Who believes that if the same stand.
ard of measurement is applied the
| taxed fraction of Washington will be
found to exceed in value the whole OF
Baltimore, Pittsburgh or Buffalo?
Causes Of Our High Standard.
There are several obvious reasons why
Washington has a higher standard OF
assessment valuation and fuller anc
more impartial application of thai
standard than most other American
| cities. The assessors in many othel
| cities, politically elected or appointed
| confessedly inject into their assess.
ments the factor of political and per.
sonal favoritism and a certain per.
centage of Embarrassment. Especially
| in regard to business properties is thi:
inevitable and expected. In Washing.
ton, where the assessor is not elected
or appointed by the taxpayers, and Il
not responsible to them or to any fac
| ton among them, underasSeSSmentS or
political grounds or through persona
favoritism are practically eliminated
In many other cities there is con.
slant pressure by dominating tax.
payers to reduce or avoid assessments
in Washington the assessor has beer
| subjected to a series of proddingS By
| non-taXpaying members of Congress
the Districts legislature, in successive
years to higher and higher assessments
of different classes of property, now Of
unimproved lands in accordance witt
singletax principles. and now of bust.
ness properties which, in accordance
with the habit elsewhere, have beer
assumed to be underassessed.
In some States gross inequalities O
assessment have been confessed in thu
different counties of the State and II
county or city, and there has beer
noted a competition in underassessmen
between city and county districts il
making up the joint asse Ssment rol
upon which State taxes were to b
levied. 1t is recorded in official report
that millions, especially of tangible per
sonal property, are thus grossly under
valued in the counties and hidden II
the cities. In Washington an asSesso
of long experience, honest and capable
has been able to apply high Standar,
of assessment with approximate uni
formity to all parts of the compac
area to be assessed, and with a higl
degree of fullness Of inclusion of taxabl
properties upon the assessment roll
The relation of assessed to true value
in Washington has been aScertained an
proven to be close by periodical com
parsons on large scale of price
obtained in actual sales of property wit
the assessment valuations of the sam
property.
The assessorship here is stable, no
fluctuating with municipal election,
The system of assessment which on
assessor has developed in Washington
is scientific, tending toward uniformity
accuracy and equity of assessment.
contrasts with the haphazard assess
ments, lacking uniformity, that ar
prevalent elsewhere in the United State,
Our assessors system, tested periodical
as to accuracy by comparison wit
sales prices, is that approved by tn
census authorities and by the Congress
Sional Joint Fiscal Committee in 1915.
In the light of these facts it is nC
surprising that whenever comparativ
assessments and tax burdens are thor
oughly and scientifically tested, whethe
by the census authorities las in 1922
or by congressional committees, as |
1915 and later years, or by the Burea
, of Efficiency in 1929, the Distris
assessment is placed near the top of til
list in proximity to true valuation an
its tax burden is found to be adequat
or excessive. +,
Our Property Tax Hurden.
The Bureau of EfficieMcys Table
compares 1929 assessNn valuation
total and per capita. keX-rates, Ia,