Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-25
A Theoretical Tax Rate.

In basing their 1882 estimates on a
tax rate of $3.50 instead of the current
S170, and on 10000, 900 Federal con-
tribution instead Of the So, 500, 900 APP
propriated by the last Congress, it is
well to remember that the Commits
sioners have not actually set the tax
rate for the fiscal year beginning next
July any more than they have ar
bitrarly fixed the amount to be ap-
propriated by Congress as the Federal
lump sum. The Commissioners were
faced with the necessity of showing how
to finance the list of projects that make
up their budget for 1882, now before
the Budget Bureau. Additional revenue
was needed, and the bases upon which
1t was estimated were the increased taE
rate and the increased lump sum.
AS a matter of fact, the Commits
sioners might have selected other bases.
Congress should increase the lump
sum, as long as it commits itself to
year-to-year use of this law-evading
expedient There would have been
more logic and equity to the people of
the District in anticipating greatly
increased lump sum to supply the
needed additional revenue than in con-
templating another boost in local taxes,
steadily mounting for the last ten years.
And the Commissioners would only have
+ been following a law that has never
been repealed by Congress, despite
studied attempts at repeal, had they
framed their budget on the basis of q
sixty per cent contribution from the
district and a forty per cent contribu-
sr-i from the Federal Government.
Coming under the executive branch
Of the Government, however, the Com
missioners presumably must follow
policy dictated by the Bureau OF
the Budget, and that policy, as it con-
Germs the District, has been to regard
as precedent the preceding years action
by the Congress. Since 1924 Congress
has been evading the fixed ratio. with
the Budget Bureau and the Commits
sioners following suit perforce.
AS for the actual fixing of the tax
rate for the fiscal year 1882, which will
depend on what Congress decides next
session, the people of the District should
be prepared to resist stoutly an in
crease over the present rate. No in
crease is justified. A fair and impartial
investigation will show that it is not
justified and an arbitrary increase that
is not preceded by such investigation
is unwarranted and unfair. Rapid and
excessive increases in real estate taxes
Z in Washington are probably doing as
much as anything to discourage home
ownership in a city where home owner
ship should be encouraged and de-
veloped as promoting efficiency and
continuity in service Of the thousands
of Federal employees who comprise
large proportion of the population.
Dependent on small and fixed salaries,
they are the least able to endure these
periodic increases and the uncertainty
of a tax rate that only moves up. The
census figures have confirmed the fact
that while the District is growing at a
rate that is relatively normal, the
actual population, that to all intents
and purposes Is served by the city. is
increasing rapidly and moving to the
suburbs, beyond the constitutionally
fixed limits of the District and beyond
the taxing power of the municipality
Government Withdrawals of land are
reducing the taxable area at the same
time, thus placing an increasing burden
on a decreasing land area, and upon a
population that is not increasing in any
proportion to the demands made on II
for more revenue.
While the Commissioners may have
predicated their budget on an increased
tax rate their expedient should be re-
garded merely as a bookkeeping trans
action until the fair and impartial in
vestigation demanded by the city's
muddled financial program shows thai
1t is not only justified, but that tbs
greater burden placed upon the city L
TO be Offset by an adequate and proper
tionate increase in the burden assumed
by the taxing partner, the Fedora
Government. The ten millions writer
down by the Commissioners does not, o
course, represent this rightful share.