Evening star., 1933-01-07
Looking for a Cure.

IaSL august tne national Municipal
Review reported that in the Spring and
Summer county taxpayers organiza-
tions were being formed throughout the
country at the rate of one a day, many
Of them spontaneously, many of them
under the leadership of paid organizers
and many of them responding to the
propaganda of the United States Cham
Der Of Commerce Their common pur-
pose was tax reduction. Some under
took the direction of movements for
economy in government through reor-
ganization. others for mergers Of county
governments, others for the reduction
of one tax at the expense of another
tax
This month most of the State Legis-
latures are convening in regular ses-
sion and before the year is out all ex-
cept five of the State Legislatures-Ala-
bama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi
and Virginia-will have met. Prohibi-
ton may occupy considerable space in
the headlines which chronicle their
work. But even prohibition will take
second place. Tax reduction and local
government reorganization will come
first. The taxpayers organizations have
been working hard in preparation for
the sessions of the Legislatures Many
members of these new Legislatures were
chosen as the representatives Of these
taxpayers tax-reduction campaigns
With the depression providing the urge
many interesting things are going to be
done in taxation, as well as in re-
organization of local governments.
Kansas, by constitutional amend
ment, has authorized an income tax,
the proceeds of which will be used to
reduce the real estate tax. Indiana
and Michigan have recently restricted
the real estate tax to a top rate Of SIS
thousand dollars of assessed valua-
tion-Indiana by special act of the
legislature, Michigan by a constitu-
tional amendment adopted in the
November election. Washington has
put tax limit of $40 thousand on an
assessment basis of so per cent of true
value. Other curious ways of getting
at the result of high taxes, without hit
ting at the cause, will doubtless be
exemplif1ed in new tax legislation. And
with the Federal Government now
heaVily taxing estates and proposing
continuance Of gasoline taxation and
possibly higher income taxation. the
taxpayer can and will shudder, his fears
well grounded.
But, with new tax schemes and pro-
poSas 10 take one tax off one shoulder
and put 1t on the other, there is ap-
parent growing realization on the
part of the taxpayers that a great por-
ton Of their tax money is wasted in
supporting numerous and more or less
useless local officials. In 1880 there were
/ 48 States, 3073 counties and SILT minor
/ civil divisions, such as townships, cleo
/ ton districts and other subdivisions.
that required elected officials These
we're in addition to 1888 incorporated
/ places-cities, towns, villages-and also
IN addition to school districts and other
! districts embracing drainage, flood con-
/ troll, irrigation and similar undertakings
During the last year many States were
conducting surveys and studies of how
/ to reduce the number of these establish
mentS. The Brookings Institution of
Washington, for instance, has been
making such studies for Alabama,
Mississippi, North Carolina and New
Hampshire. Definite proposals for county
I consultations have been made in
/ seventeen States. New Yorks Legisla-
/ ture will be asked to act at the regular
session on several bills for county re-
organization and consolidation. Ar
Angton County's experiment in regional
county government has attracted con-
! siderable attention, and has been fol-
! lowed by San Mateo County, California
A Stanford University commentator has
written that with Arlington County
/ Virginia, on the Atlantic coast, and San
Mateo. on the Pacific, the eyes of those
! interested in structural changes in ouI
counties will have opportunity to study
widely separated political units ex-
perimenting with the same plan of
/ government under slightly varying con-
/ ditions.'
The depression will probably accom-
plish more, in the way of scrapping
fractional, If outworn, forms of local
government than would years OF pros
perity. 1t is encouraging to note that
after the first reaction to stringent
times, shown in rather blind and aim
less chopping, in which the good suf-
fered with the bad. the new trend is
to search out the fundamental cause
of high taxation and find cure of the
disease rather than a mere soporif1c
temporarily easing the pain.