Evening star., 1930-06-21
REPORT OPPOSING
DISTRICT TAX RAISE
MADE TO CHAMBER
Committee on City Finance
Favors Adoption of Long,
Time Fiscal Plan.
SURPLUS PRESERVATION
SCHEME RECOMMENDED
Statement Declares Burden Here
Has Grown Through Constant
Increase in Assessments.

Congress would be urged to make no
increase in the District tax rate under
to the board Of directors of the Cham
ber of Commerce yesterday by the Dis
trict finance committee.
The committee report said that de
spite the fact that the District tax rate
has remained stationary for several
years past, the actual tax burden has
constantly grown because of the annual
increase in the assessed value of taxable
property. Under the plan of speeded-
up assessments, moreover, new buildings
are now assessed and taxed If half
year remains after construction is COM
pleted, thus still further increasing the
tax burden upon real estate"
Would Guard Surplus.
Other committee recommendations
follow:
THAT the District surplus fund be
not drawn upon for current expenditure
needs except with a matched and pro-
portionate contribution of Federal
funds.
That pending the findings Of the
proposed permanent fiscal relations
commission the Federal contribution be
increased, particularly for those i'm
provements involving added RESPONSE
bility, at least in so far as may be
necessary to avoid an increased tax
rate.
That through the proposed perma-
nent fiscal relations commission or by
other means there be developed
standard longtime financing plan in
Guiding the budgeting, over a period of
years, of major public Improvements
with correlated methods of financing
over longtime period.
That the form of the current an
nual budget be improved, as previously
recommended, for the greater conven-
ience of the tax payer and that the
District Commissioners be authorized
and directed to provide for full public
hearing before their budget estimates
are submitted to Congress-"
The committee reported that "the
Capital City of the United States-par-
ticularly in that year dedicated to the
memory of its revered founder, the
Father Of Our Country-cannot afford
to unduly curtail its expenditure for
necessary public services the BENEFITS
from which will accrue to all citizens OF
the United States as we'll as to the
citizens of the District Of Columbia.
Committed to Proposals.
'Under these circumstances your COM
mittee on District finance does not feel
that 1t can present to you detailed
recommendations covering particular
items to be included In the 1882 budget
estimates. The chamber is already COM
mitted in favor of a number of specific
proposals, including a municipal airport
at Gravelly Point, increased provision
for parks and for school buildings and
grounds, the widening of certain por-
tionS of H and Thirteenth streets, a
Nationad Guard armory, the modern
ization of the port of Washington, the
elimination of grade crossings, the con-
struction Of bridges, more branch
library buildings and increased appro-
priations for the promotion of the pub
lie health and welfare. Your committee
reiterates Washington's urgent need of
these Improvements, but it protests
against any plan of taxation under
which the cost of these and other i'm
provements involving a still further
degree of Federal reSponsibility-such
as the proposed new Municipal Center
Will be assessed in undue proportion
against the taxpayers of the District.
" In the opinion of your District
fiscal difficulty is traceable to the
failure TO develop an adequate budgetary
procedure for financing the long and
short fiscal needs of the District of
Columbia. The present pay-as-you-g
policy has served its purpose as regards
maintenance and operating cost items,
but 1t has failed lamentably to meet
the requirements of longtime financ-
ing. Sufficient evidence of this failure
is afforded by the f1ve-year school
building program, the Cramton park
bill and the proposed temporary air.
port and Municipal Center bills. Each
OF these longtime improvement prof.
ectS would be provided for by special
legislation and by different financing
methods.
Urges Standard Procedure.
Your committee submits that the
time has come 10 resolve the present
chaos in District financing by the de-
Velopment OF standard financing pro-
cedure including the basic pay-as-you-
go policy. but including also a method
for distributing over a period of years,
the cost burden of the limited number
OF major public improvements of the
types already mentioned which can
not be financed on an annual appropri-
alton basis.
THE means for developing such a
standard financing procedure have al
ready been placed before Congress in
the form of the Moore bill Oh. r.
1l194, to provide permanent fiscal
relations commission empowered to
make investigations of this character
and to develop and to recommend to
Congress the adoption Of a sound and
equitable District financing plan. This
BILL which embodieS a recommendation
originally made by your District finance
committee and Endorsed by the whole
chamber on December 20, 1927, pre-
sents, in the opinion of your committee,
the best plan yet advanced for solving
this difficult problem"
Rudolph Jose chairman, signed the