Evening star., 1932-04-10
Prevent a Gas Tax Surplus.


ton which meets, inadequately, his
obligations In connection with the
maintenance and upbuilding Of the
Nations city.
finance for Uncle Sam to exact a new
| or increased tax from automobile own
ers, except himself, in such fashion as
| to relieve himself entirely from partic-
| ipation in the cost of maintenance and
! development of Washingtons streets,
which, in the original city. were given
J TO him and which he owns in fee simple
and exclusively controls; which he uses
and damages with solid-tired trucks
and which, solely for national purposes,
he has planned of abnormal area in
volving extraordinary and excessive
expenses of development and main
tenance. 1t would be a second clever
stroke for Uncle Sam to use the surplus
of this tax, exacted solely from others,
to reduce his equitable payment toward
general expenses of the Capital. Uncle
Sam, through Congress, has unlimited
| power to make these clever strokes. but
| it is inconceivable that he would be
guilty of this gross, self-serving abuse
of power, violating every principle of
American fair play.
Another suggestion is that part Of
I this surplus revenue from Accent
gasoline tax be diverted for expendi-
lures on sidewalks, despite the fact that
automobiles are forbidden under severe
penalties of law, to use sidewalks 3
The last suggestion for use of this
prospective surplus is that it be di-
verted to park and parkway develop
ment, although the District has been
committed to the expenditure OF some
S16,000,000 for future park purchases
in the next 16 years and must, in ad-
! dition. contribute an estimated s25,-
100000 for park maintenance during
| the same time.
| However, since the prospective sur
plus serves only to arouse bitter and
hurtful controversy over which of sew
eral improper uses shall be made OF
| it, why have a surplus? If the gaso-
line tax must be raised at all, why
raise it beyond the point where it viii
meet logical demands2 II any in.
crease IN the gas tax is needed mum.
cipally, why not increase it so pei
cent instead of 100 per cent? Why
not make the new tax cents instead
of cents?
A Scent tax would be nearer the
average for the country as a whole than
4-cent tax. according to figures from
the Bureau of Public Roads The aver
i age tax is 344 cents for the six-month
| period ending July l, 1891. Further
more, it is weighted" average. a more
accurate estimate than the Bureau OF
Efdciency's unweighted average of Al
cents, struck by adding the tax rates
Of the States and dividing the total BY
the number of States. A few changes
in tax rates since last July may change
the average slightly, but not materially
] Should there be a Scent tax in the
/ District, such rate would compare with
the rate of cents now in effect in Con-
necticut. Missouri, Rhode Island and New
York New York's 2-cent rate will be
! increased to 3 cents May y, and with
the 3cent rate now in effect in Cali
fornia, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa. Kan
sas, Massachusetts,, Michigan, Mime
sofa, New Jersey, North Dakota and
Pennsylvania.
! Of course, there are higher rates.
, There are IT States, according to
! January / figures compiled by the
/ National Automobile Chamber of Com
merce, where a four-cent rate is In
effect. There are l6 States where the
rate exceeds four cents and goes, in the
case of two Of them, to as high as
seven cents. But in several of these
! States gasoline tax revenues have been
diverted into general taxation funds
and used for schools, unemployment
relief, inland waterways and even sea-
wall construction. The citizens OF Balti-
more pay, through their gasoline taxes
30 per cent for State highways and
only 20 per cent for city streets. But
their 20 per cent, in turn, is augmented
by 20 per cent of the rural citizens gas
tax payments. And the money raised
through gas taxes for many State high
way projects is met, on a fifty-fifty
basis, by Federal ad-building appro-
priations.
The Federal Government should moi
contribute to the perversion of the gas.
oline tax by losing sight of the sounc
principle that this tax represents fail
levy upon those who make most use o.
the streets, but becomes vicious anc
discriminatory when regarded as an
other form OF general taxation. In th'
case of the District of Columbia {
proportionate burden is already levieC
upon motorists for street paving anC
upkeep through the two-cent rate. Rev
enue demands call for TO increase IL
that rate. If additional revenues wer
sought in order to permit the Fedora
Government to spread the street Ia,
. contribution to other projects, three
! cent rate would more than meet tn
; demand.