Evening star., 1930-12-07
AUTOMOBILE TAX
INCREASE SHOWN
Committee Appointed by
A. A. A. to Study Various
LeVieS.

A preliminary estimate Of motor
vehicle taxes for 1880 made public by
the American Automobile Association
today shows that on the average the
car owners will pay approximately II
per cent more this year than they paid
in 1929.
Coincident with the issuance Of this
statSment the A. A. A. announced that
Thomas p. Henry of Detroit, its presi-
dent, had appointed a national COM
mittee to study every type of motor
to assure equitable taxation for the car
owners.
Committee Personnel.
The personnel of the committee Is as
follows: Col. Sidney d. Waldon, Detroit,
land, Greg; Dan Moody, Houston, Tex;
c. w. Roberts, Greensboro, N. c.; Sid
ney s. Gorham, Chicago, Ill; George
Berry, st. Louis, Mo-; william N.
Reynolds Wilkes-Barre, Pa; Charles r.
Foley. Lockport, N. Y; Robert Schmunk,
Cleveland, Ohio; Arthur Carr, Wash
ington, D. c., and Percy L. Towne, San
Francisco. Calf.
Mr.. Henry cited three reasons which
the entire motor tax structure and the
practices and tendencies inherent in It.
should be subject to q comprehensive
examination at this time. First, the
wholly disproportionate rise in motor
taxes from year to year as compared
with other forms Of taxation; the evi-
dence Of efforts at wholesale diversion Of
the tax to other than road purposes;
and third, the probability that the
excuse Of hard times" will lead many
Of the a. State Legislatures meeting
early In 1891 to make further raids on
the car owners. Mr.. Henry said, in
part:
Preliminary Estimate Cited.
"Our preliminary estimate for this
year shows that the motorist on the
average will pay $33 in motor taxes in
1880 as compared to $28.56 in 1929.
the car owners are being constantly
pyramided. In the 10-year period
1921-l930 motor vehicle levies from gas
taxes and license fees have increased
509.6 per cent, as compared with an
increase of 159 per cent in motor
vehicle registration and 1903 per cent
In expenditures for highways.
Two Notable Precedents.
with new situation which may well
open the way for wholesale diversion
to general purposes Of State and local
administration of levies placed on them
as q class. Two notable precedents were
established in the November elections in
New Jersey and in Louisiana. In the
former State bond issues totaling $l7,-
100000 were authorized for public insti-
tutions and inland waterways, to be re-
tired from gas tax collections. In Louis
lana the gaX tax was raised / cent per
gallon in order to provide funds for port
development The automobile is not as
yet q sea-going vehicle!
While l shall not anticipate the ac-
tion of our National Committee, per-
sonally feel it is imperative that the
law authorizing the gas tax in every
State should specifically and categori-
cally declare that every cent contributed
by the car owners must be used for road
construction and maintenance, which
would include the much overdue high
way Identification. For every State to
do this will in some instances require
constitutional amendments.
Favor Missouri Plan.
1.-THE constant increases and the fear
Of further raids on their pocketb0oks by
the forthcoming sessions Of the Legisla-
lures has caused the organized motor
lists in many sections to start agitation
in favor Of the adoption Of the Missouri
plan, which limits the gas tax and Ii
cense fees, through a constitutional
amendment passed in 1928, to the pres
ent rate for a period of 10 years"