Evening star., 1934-04-15
Tax Rate and Assessments.


There are many who will agree with
Senator Thomas view that the origin
Of much misunderstanding as to
Washington's real tax burden is the
system of coupling high assessments
with a relatively low tax rate A tax
rate, standing by itself without con-
sideration of assessment practice, is,
Of course, no index to the tax burden
The prevailing practice in the United
States is to couple a high tax rate
with low assessment-even though
the law declares for full-value assess
ment-and for that reason Washing
tons proverbially low tax rate has in
the past been the target of criticism
by members of Congress, who over
looked the extraordinary high stand
ard of full-value assessment prevailing
here.
AS Senator Thomas says, there is
to be considered the advisability of
lowering assessments, rather than re-
ducing the tax rate, when it is the
purpose to lessen the local burden of
taxation. The only Immediately avail
able method of decreasing the local
realty tax burden happens to be re-
duction of the tax rate itself. But in
any final, equitable readjustment,
there should be, to prevent the mis-
understandings that Senator Thomas
mentions and to make possible fair
comparisons of tax burdens, a lower
ing OF the assessment through de-
crease in practice of the percentage
relation of assessed to true value,
rather than reducing the tax rate.
Pending proposals for reduction in
the tax rate necessarily include serious
consideration of the needed improve
ments which at this time should be
undertaken, but all of which cannot
be financed from existing revenues
and none of which can be financed
from current revenues-if local reve-
nues are further decreased by tax re-
duction. If, however, Budget Bureau
and House committee recommended
tions are followed; if the lump sum is
to remain at the inadequate figure of
s5,7O0,000 and appropriations for nee
essary improvements are to be denied,
then real estate tax reduction is, of
course, preferable to the always HARM
full piling up of unexpended local reve-
nue. surpluses. If the city is to be
denied Improvements and the funds
for current maintenance are to be
shaved still further, as proposed, then
there undoubtedly should be the off,
setting benefit to the taxpayer which
lies in tax reduction. The choice be-
tween these alternatives-a reduced
tax burden and no Improvements, or
improvements to be financed through
existing taxes plus an equitable in
crease in the lump sum-does not,
unfortunately, lie with the local tax
payers but with the exclusively legis-
latfng Congress. The choice between
the alternatives, at any rate, should
be clear and explicit.
The demand for a well-planned pro-
gram of improvement, and the gener-
ally recognized difficulties of real es-
tate taxpayers in the period of de-
preston, lend exceptional Importance
to the proposals now under study to
obtain Public Works Administration
advances. If the terms are equitable
and the period of repayment is spread
over q. number of years, there is a
convincing argument in the principle
Of sharing the cost of such improve
ments with the future generations
which will derive most profit and en-
Joyment from them. The Commits
sioner5 vigorous determination to test
this method of solving some of the
immediate financial problems facing
the District and the sympathetic con-
sideration the proposal has already
won from Senator King and Repre-
sentative Norton are encouraging.