Evening star., 1934-12-10


hoped. however, that in the study
proposed to be made by direction of
the President all of these matters will
be gone into most carefully and such
a conclusion reached as will establish
for at least some years to come a
definite determination Of what con-
stitutes not only fair and reasonable
taxes which should be paid by the
residents of this city, but as well
fair and equitable amount which
should be paid by the Federal Govern
ment toward the cost of operation
and maintenance and improvement
of the National Capital. There can be
no intelligent and just opposition to
the conclusion that the United States
is morally bound to meet Its fair
share Of local expenses. As stated
in the report Of an inquiry into as
sessments and taxations by a Senate
Committee of the Sixty-fourth Con-
gress: Nothing is clearer to us than
1t never was the intent that this Dis
trict should bear all the very extraor-
dinary burdens and expenses incident
to its plan and occupancy as a ma
tional City, and any such proposed
burden would be most inequitable
and unjust now."
Encouraged BY President.
1t is matter of great encourage
n1ent to the Commissioners that the
President of the United States has
taken cognizance Of this matter Of
fiscal relations as to make it his per-
sonal concern. It is not my purpose
to discuss an evaluated tax rate for
the District of Columbia. However,
I would like to say that this is not
going to be an easy task. OF course
mere comparison of tax rates in
themselves means nothing. The
establishment Of ratio of assessed
valuation to legal basis of valuation
is extremely difficult if not imprac-
ticable OF accurate determination. At
the best the most that could be ac-
complished in this respect would be
the results of composite opinions.
In comparing the tax rate of Wash
ington with other cities a number Of
elements must of necessity be taken
into consideration. First. there is the
debt service. Here in tn District of
COLUMBIA we are fortunate in not
only having a city free Of any real
indebtedness (excluding the recent
loan obtained from the Public Works
Administration for sewage disposal
treatment, but We are required by law
to operate on a pay-as-you-go basis.
In other cities a significant part Of
the tax dollar goes to debt service
Our expenditures are fixed after a
painstaking consideration of their
needs and our money is paid out
under rigid scrutiny. This tends. of
course. to an economic administration
These and other considerations make
comparison of our tax burdens with
other cities a difficult matter.
Much Exempt Property.
AS part of the general question of
fiscal relations We have the matter of
exempt property in the District of
Columbia. The approximate value of
taxable real estate for next fiscal year
is one billion, one hundred and thirty
millions of dollars. estimating in round
amounts to the nearest million. Prop
erty OF the United States Is probably
in excess of five hundred and fifty
million dollars; schools, churches, le-
cations and similar institutions that
are exempt will total about one hun
dred million dollars, and all property
in the name of the District of Co.
lumbia-schools, engine houses, police
stations, etc.-will total seventy mil
lion dollars. This is grand total of
one billion, eight houndred and fifty
million dollars.
From the above figures it will be
seen that the entire exemption
amounts to seven hundred and twenty
million dollars, or nearly 40 per cent
of the total. Washington has a pop
ulation of five hundred thousand,
and no city Of its size shows such
large exemption of real property. In
fact, other cities Of the country carry
less than 20 per cent of their total
wealth as an exemption. The value
Of United States property as COM
pared to taxable property is about
so per cent, or 80 per cent of the
entire real estate wealth.
"Tax" Payment Estimated.
If every kind of real estate within
the District were subject to a tax,
excluding property owned by the
city, We would have an amount which,
added to other sources of revenue,
would give sufficient revenue to cover
fairly balanced municipal budget.
The United States under such an
arrangement would pay about eight
million. three hundred thousand dol
lars, or an amount corresponding to
that recommended by the Commis-
sioners in their budget for 1896.
In concluding my remarks, permit
me to quote the following in the operi-
ing message of President Coolidge
to the second session of the Sixty
ninth Congress, made in December,
1926, concerning the Capital City:
If our country wishes to compete
with others, let 1t not be in the
slIpport of armaments but in the