Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-24

Producing the Facts.

Bureau of Efficiency is preparing in adj
vance for the fiscal inquiry this Winter
by revising its 1929 table concerning
Federal and local participation in
financing the Capital. The bureau has
received no request from the Mapes
subcommittee that this be done, but it
Is reasonable to suppose that no in
quiry can be considered complete with
out the valuable data compiled by the
bureaus Investigators. and they will be
called for sooner or later.
Interesting light is shed on the bu-
yeau's revision Of its 1929 figures by
recent article in The Star which showed
that the Governments recent pur-
chases in the so-called Avenue TRAN
gle have been included in the new es-
Inmates Of Federal tax-exempt holdings
in the District The value Of land
alone In this area, according to an as
sessment valuation furnished by As
SCISSOR Richards, amounts to $1,000, 900,
while the Improvements are greatly in
excess of this amount. Thus, applying
the bureaus formula for measuring the
Federal Governments debt to the Dis
trict "as a municipal taxpayer" the
fictitious amount set down as tax rev.
enues owing from Uncle Sam would be
materially increased by the Govern
ment's large purchases of land and i'm
provements. In the last report, this
tax-including personality and intangi-
bles-amounted to $7,440,9 39, but the
bureaus new figures are expected to
raise this amount well over a million
dollars. AS the Government land pur-
chases since 1928 have not been con-
fined to the Avenue triangle, it Is rea-
sonable to suppose that the Bureau of
Efficiency has included other land. upon
which to assess the Federal Govern
ment's real estate taxes, and the land
IN the triangle.
The point of interest TO the District,
however. Is not the amount that is due
from the Federal Government merely
as municipal taxpayer. For obvious
reasons it is impossible to construe the
Federal Government-which possesses
the exclusive right of egislation-mere-
" as a municipal taxpayer. And the
difdculty Of properly assessing the in
tangibles Of the Federal Government
are apparent. But granting, for the
purposes Of the bureaus survey. that
the municipal tax owing the District
by the Federal Government viii now
amount to Q figure approximating
% 500, 900, the balance between this and
the $500, 900 which represented the
Federal Governments contribution last
year Is reduced to million dollars.
The Bureau Of efficiency has prop
erly maintained that the Federal Gov
ernment's just contribution to the
Capital might be found by first COM
putting the sum owing to the District
as q municipal taxpayer, and, secondly,
by computing the amount owing to the
District by reason Of the extraordinary
expenditures OF the District occasioned
by the fact that Washington is the
Nations capital. Needless to say, there
was never any attempt on the part Of
Congress to compute this second
amount. But II it was represented by
the difference between the lump sum
and the $7,440,s3o in fictitious Federal
taxes paid the District, it would have
been about a million and half dollars.
The bureaus new figures wiz probably
reduce this balance to about q million
dollars, which would demand at least
n half-million dollar increase in the
lump sum above the $9,500,00O allowed
last year.
OF course, the Federal Governments
debt to the District on account Of the
large expenditures occasioned by the
fact that this Is the Capital exceeds
million and half dollars. The point
Is that every investigation, impartially
undertaken, will produce the facts that
justify and demand an increase in the
Federal contribution. Members of the
House accepted the Bureau OF Eff
ciency's report last time by emphasizing
one half Of it and ignoring the other
half. It will be enlightening TO see how
they accept the forthcoming report,
which, studied in any light, shows an
increased contribution to Capital main
tenance and development due from the
Federal Government.