Evening star., 1932-03-16
pated expenses Of the Vehicle and
rTSro f9c nenartment

| D9teQ SxQSilSCo "a 0A3 vculCi4 IN
Traffic Department.
Having thus arrived at the estimated
annual cost of the activities 1t believes
should be financed by the motoring
public through fund segregated from
the general revenues Of the city, the
bureau shows in its report that II the
House motor vehicle weight tax bill
became law in its present form, to-
gether with a Accent gasoline tax ano
existing fees from operating permits
and title fees, the total sum raised an
nually from motor vehicles to finance
this highway fund would be s6.49o 900
This amount of revenue would be al
least $2,4O0,000 more than would bt
needed to carry out the bureaus plar
of taxing motor vehicles to meet di.
department activities. The bureau
eliminated this large anticipated sur
plus by rewriting the Mapes motor ve-
hicle weight tax bill in o way that
reduces its estimated tax yield from
$4,000 900 under the House rates tC
s467, 900 in its revised form. In the
process of rewriting this bill the bu-
reau left passenger cars, light COM
mercial vehicles and taXicabs with q
nominal ST registration fee, but re-
taining substantial weight taxes on
! IEuckS, WIFI cSpSCldlly severe EhLSS OF
those with solid or steel tires.
Electric passenger vehicles would have
to pay a SIG registration fee under
out that, since electric automobiles are
not reached by the gasoline tax. the
bureau has added to the normal 81
registration fee for other passenger
cars a fee of $l8, which the bureau
says Is the average annual gas tax on
other passenger cars.
The following table summarizes the
estimated receipts from motor vehicle
owners from the Accent gas tax, the
weight tax as passed by the House, the
present operator permit fees and the
present vehicle title fees: From Accent
gas tax, 50 100000; the House registra-
ton weight tax. $2900,000; operators
permits, 100000, and title fees, 500, 900.
This produces the total for credit to
highway fund of $6,490,00O OF course,
under the bureaus recommendations,
motorists also would have to continue
paying the personal property tax on
| their cars, but that sum is not included
here because the bureau advocates plac-
| ing that revenue in the general tax
fun1 instead OF the special highway
funt.
T report next turns its attention
| to tle question of what should be done
with Horland assessments, which are
levied on abutting property owners
when a street Is newly paved In this
| connection 1t states:
IF the complete costs of construc-
ton, maintenance and repair of high
ways, roads and streets are to be met
by the highway fund, all collections
from abutting property owners made
| fH> ~ he Ja,,,
amended /" should be credited to the
highway fund The law requires in
general that one-half the cost of any
permanent type Of paving be assessed
! against the abutting real property.
Under the law as recently amended, the
amount thus assessed will frequently be
less than one-half the cost. At present,
whenever the funds for such paving are
advanced from the gasoline tax road
and street fund, the collections under
the assessments are credited to that
fund and, similarly, II advanced from
general revenues, the collections are
returned to general revenues. If the
highway fund is to advance funds for
all such paving, all collections on that
account should be returned to It,
Drop In Collections.
due to litigation and to the recent
change in the basis of assessments
under the law, the collections, which
were $292,49 for 1880, dropped to
$150,686 for 1881. For 1892 the Dis
trict auditor estimates that these COL
lecticns will be negligible. The matter
undoubtedly will be adjusted and within
few years these collections should
amount to approximately 100000 a
year. In view of the fact that the
present low collections probably will be
followed by higher returns, 5000 900
seems TO be fair estimate of the
average annual return over the next
several years.
THE amount of estimated collections
from taxes proposed in the bills H. r.
5823 (4-cent gas tax and H. r. 1924
registration weight tax and from re-
lated sources of income, as previously
shown, will be $6,490,0 annually. To
this sum- the estimate of 5000, 900, under
the Borland law, has been added. max
ing total of $6,69000o To make it
reasonably conservative, this estimate is
reduced to $6,5OO,0O0.
"The expenditure items amounting TO
$4,000,000 (included In foregoing de-
scription Of activities under proposed
highway fund.- are all that can reason
ably be charged solely to the motoring
public.
Therefore, the revenues from the
increased motor vehicle taxes proposed
IN H. r. 1928 and H. r. 1924, together
with other revenues from taxation of
motor vehicle owners and from collec-
tions properly to be credited to the
highway fund. will be approximately
S2,500,000 year in excess of the esti-
mated needs for all projects Justly
ehargeable to the motoring public.
BY conservative estimate, the revenue
to be derived from the taxes prescribed
in H. r. 1923 and H. r. 1924 alone
would amount to at least $4,000, 900, or
$4,000, 900 in excess of the requirements
for the program for highways and re-
lated projects. Even the proceeds from
the present 2-cent motor fuel tax for
the fiscal year 1881, plus the estimated
proceeds from the registration taxes
provided in H. r. 1924, would produce
annually surplus of approximately
$500,000 as follows"
Proceeds from 2-cent tax. 1881,
$1,649,3 1902; registration receipts under
H. r. 1924, $2,900,o0o Total, s4,54e,-
302, as compared with highway fund
requirements of s40o0,000
This surplus Of s500,000 would be
increased by returns from operatorx'