Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-03-23

or any form of motor VenlCle go u
The association points out LA &c ".
total annual average eApeiiI.u ~ ~
the next five years by tne Hisnmay a.
partment, including salaries ana VIZ. 20
expense and salaries oil the ull e ~ % Va
vebicies and trafic. amounts to S3.973,-
a4c and that the motorists of the city,
through the present gasoline tax Gnelr
nersoral nroperty tax on automoplleS
and their operators' permit ices, are
paving S2.51e, 39781. This amount, not
including the fees from title reglstra-
tions. represents payment py Ihe
autonoohiie owner of 63.3 per cent OF
the total highway bill for the DISTRICT
not including bridges.
fTherefore." SAYS the A. A. A. re-
port, "the only conclusion Wnlcn may
be drawn is that the motorists OF WASH
ington, as a class, are ALREADY paying al
the very least their tan snare o. tne
cost of construction, replacement anu
maintenance OF Dlstrlct streeGS'
Why u. S. Share Is Demanded.
The A A. A. sets forth these reasons
why the Federal Government should
Contribute to the cost Of repair and
development of the Capitals street sys-
tenn:
Il. Large sums are spent in construc-
tion. replacement and maintenance OF
streets on which Federal property abuts
and for which the Federal Government,
of course, pays no assessment.
20. The width and character OF the
streets made necessary by the fact that
the seat of the Federal Government is
located in the District Of Columbia
adds substantially to the cost of street
and highway construction.
dc IF q n
vehicles, Including trucks, use the
streets OF the District OF Columbia
daily. and contribute nothing whatso-
ever toward the maintenance of these
streets, which they help to tear down
to the same relative degree as the same
number of privately owned motor We
hicles.
q. The District Of Columbia receives
no share of the monies appropriated by
the Federal Government for Federal
aid to the States"
Motorists Already Pay Enough.
The report states further that sit is
felt that motor vehicle owners in the
District Of Columbia are at present,
under existing taxation, paying their
full and proper share OF the cost of
construction, replacing and maintaining
bia
Comparing the amount of money
which would be raised through motor
vehicle taxation as proposed by the
Mapes Committee with the actual needs
of the District of Columbia for highway
construction, replacement and mainte-
nance, 1t is evident that the Mapes plan
would raise from the motorists alone
not only the entire cost OF operation of
the Highway Department, its construc-
ton program and operation of the Office
of the director of vehicles and traffic,
and therefore lay the burden of the en-
tire highway program solely on the Shout
ders of the motorists of the District of
Columbia, but would in addition raise
an excess Of $780,, 1852, which sur
plus would be diverted to the general
fund for purposes other than street and
highway construction.
1.-THE Mapes Committee bills for mo-
tor vehicle taxation would not only
raise the revenues from the motoring
public of the District of Columbia far
in excess Of the just and proper share
which the motorists of the District
should be called upon to pay but would
inevitably result in that most obnoxious
Of all practices-the levying of taxes
against motorists as class for diver
sion to purposes other than street and
highway construction and maintenance
Any plan which proposes such diversion
cannot be condemned too severely"
Bureaus Safeguarding Plan.
The Bureau of Efhciency's recommen-
cations would eliminate one of the
Automobile Association, which lay in
the possibility that under the Mapes
bills the motorists of the city would
raise more than enough money to care
for the streets, etc, thereby threaten
ing the use of such special taxes for
other purposes than streets, bridges and
traffic.
In this connection the Bureau of
Efficiency report states that the reve-
nue. from any special taxes imposed
upon motorists or motor vehicles should
be used only for the special purposes
Tor which the special taxes are assessed.
ana should not be used for general
municipal purposes. The revenue for
general municipal purposes should be
assessed and collected in the form of
general taxes"
But while the Bureau of Eficiency's
recommendations, If carried out in re-
gard to the gasoline tax and automo-
bile weight tax, would be considered
less drastic in their effect upon the
automobile owner-or rather upon the
truck owners-than the original Mapes
oliS, the objection by the A. A. A. and
others to the shifting of the whole bur
oen OF the street system to the auto
mobile owning and using public re-
mains unchanged by the bureaus re-
port.
Am0unf nf n auauua Il. nx,L4
There is a practical question regard
ing the revenues from the gasoline tax
unoer the doubled rate that cannot be
answered at this time. The Bureau of
Efficiency estimates that the yield from
the Accent tax would be So. 400 nm
which is slightly more than twice the
yield for 1881 from the 2-cent tax of
81 ,649,3 But whether there would
be such a yield cannot be known. It
has been pointed out that with Mary
lands gas tax now at cents and Vir-
ginlaS tax at 5 cents an unestimated
number of Marylanders and Virginians
buy their gas in the District to escape
the higher State taxes. If the tax were
doubled in the District, the incentive
to buy here would be removed to
large extent. The District gasoline tax
might not yield the sum anticipated.
In this connection the American Auto
mobile Association points out that "the
recent experience of various States has
shown conclusively, In not one but in
several instances, that more money has
been collected from a lower tax than
from a high tax. The State of Penn
sylvania is the outstanding example.
In May, 1880, Pennsylvania collected
1881 ,448 under a Accent tax, while in
May, 1881, collections under a 3-cent
tax scared to $3,580.815. Thus, with a
tax cent less, collections were 81 1000
900 greater"
The Bureau of Efficiency, however.
includes in its report a table to show
the increased yield in the States when
the rates were increased, and from the
table reaches the general conclusion
that in all but two Of the States the