Evening star., 1934-12-28
Dur District Commissioners have In

1 S3NttS Jcf &" GcftttSto" " 'sc /
recent Oldest Inhabitants dinner.
Our District Commissioners have In
fine public spirit taken the initiative
in opening up the question of the
adequacy Of the national contribution
for Capital upbuilding.
Through their initiative the question
became a live issue in the Budget
Bureau. 1t then went up automati-
cally as a question of administrative
policy to the President and, notwith-
standing the pressure upon him OF
national and international issues, it
received and will receive his interested
personal attention. He plans expert
study of the comparative tax burdens
Of Washington and other cities ap-
proximating Washington in population
and surrounding conditions. The Sen
ate subcommittee, considering propo-
sitions for reorganizing the District
government, will probably give thought
in this connection to pleas for more
equitable fiscal relations. This issue
will, we hope, receive full and fair con-
sideration by the House and Senate in
acting upon the District appropriations
bill for 1896.
We are, in effect, promised re-
newed reweighing Of the respective
obligations of Capital and Nation to
maintain and develop the Nations city
like that conducted by the Congress
sional Joint Committee in 1915.
What, then, is the national obliga
ton toward the maintenance and
upbuilding of the Nations city and
how adequately is that obligation being
met?
1. Obligation based on extensive real
estate ownership Of United States
in District.
(a) Estimates Of amount OF hy-
pothetical tax Nation would
pay on national property If
assessed and taxed as an
individual or corporate tax.
payer. Equitable payment
in lieu Of taxes suggested,
not actual taxation of ma
tional property.
(b) Estimates of amount Of OBJ
legation equitably payable
in consideration Of vast
area and great value Of
national property stricken
from tax roll and held ex-
empt from taxation.
2. Obligation based upon absolute con-
troll Of city. Obligation fol-
lows power. including obligation
springing from conditions sur
rounding founding of city.
3. Obligation springing from demands
Of patriotic pride in Capital.
When Nation shirked its obliga-
ton, Capital was national sham
When Nation met its obligation,
Capital became object Of national
pride.
4. Obligation based upon payments
made from local taxes, solely
because Washington is the Capt.
tai, in excess of what would be
paid il Washington were the
ordinary commercial self-sustain-
ing community. Also items which
are national or semi national
and impose an obligation upon
the Nation TO pay all or half or
40 per cent of expenditures, and
thus render inadequate the ma
tional payment Of approximately
II per cent under current lump
sum appropriations.
S. Obligation based upon heavy na-
tional Gnternal revenue) taxes
paid by people Of Capital, COM
pared with corresponding pay
ments by the States.
6, Equitable obligation to pay heavily
for Capital upbuilding in lieu of
hundreds Of millions Of grants,
bounties, subsidies paid by Ma
tion to States from national taxes
to which District contributes
more than half Of the States, in
= distribution from which the
Capital has been barred.
Obligation As Untaxed Property Owner.
1. The obligation first thought of by
the average American Is based upon
the large percentage Of District area
with improvements held by the Ma
tional Government exempt from tax
alton, to the cost Of the expensive
maintenance Of which District tax
payers contribute both in national and
in local taxes.
(a) Some measure this obligation by
calculating the hypothetical tax which
would be paid upon the National Gov
eminent property If it were assessed
and taxed like privately owned real
estate. The proposition is not actually
to tax national property, but to sug-
gest an equitable payment in lieu OF
such taxation.
(b) Others use the same figures OF
national ownership to demonstrate
national obligation to make equitable
and substantial payment in consid-
Grafton solely of the extensive area
and great value of national property
stricken from the tax roll and held
exempt from taxation.
In this connection consider a few
pertinent figures.
Assessor Richards O934) shows that
the total exempt property in Wash
ington ($720, 1000, ,000) is slightly less
than 40 per cent of the total OF tax
able and exempt property ($1,850,-
600 000), whereas similar exemptions
in other cities average less than 20
per cent of that total. United States
nronerty exempt $3.50 000, ,000) is