Evening star., 1934-09-20
Local Tax Discussion.

The District budget prepared by
the department heads and which Is
now under consideration by the Com
miSsionerS and the citizens at the
budget hearings would call for an
increase in total appropriations for
the District next year of approx
mately $l6000,000 That would mean
an increase in the running expenses
of the District Government and in
outlays of more than forty per cent
Such an increase, of course, is out
of the question.
The more accurate picture of Dis
trict needs and of revenue availability
will be drawn by Budget Officer Dono-
van and the Commissioners when they
forward their final estimates to the
Bureau of the Budget. These esti-
mates will be much less than the
S52,0o0,o00 asked by the department
heads, although they will undoubt-
edly be more than the slender appro-
priations this year Of about $35, 900, 900
At the end of the present fiscal year
the District, as Mr.. Donovan has
pointed out, will be practically de-
pendent on current revenues to finance
the 1886 appropriations, as surplus
revenues have been, to all intents and
purposes, eliminated. To provide for
the essential increases, Mr.. Donovan
and the Commissioners have shown,
additional revenues must be pro-
vided. Either local taxes must be
increased, new taxes provided or the
Federal lump-sum contribution must
be raised. Emphasis during the hear
ings has been placed on sounding out
the citizens on their attitude toward
increased, or new, taxation.
The provision of new revenues to
finance essential local improvements
whatever the expense of these may
be when finally determined by careful
budget analysis-will, of course, lie
with Congress. The first task of the
Commissioners is to prepare budget
that withstands the rigorous exami-
nation of the Bureau of the Budget.
The next is to defend the estimates
that reach Congress and, perhaps, to
convince Congress Of the wisdom Of
increasing local expenditures above
those recommended by the Bureau
of the Budget. Last year, for instance,
local appropriations were increased
about s2,186,264 above budget esti-
mates.
But until the Commissioners and
the taxpayers know what the policy
of Congress is to be in appropriating
for Capital City maintenance and de-
velopment, discussion of ways and
means to raise additional revenue is
premature. How much additional
revenue must be raised? Is the lack
of suf1icient revenue due to failure
by Congress to live up to the letter,
and even the spirit, of unrepealed
substantive law, or is the District
guilty of failure to contribute its fair
share of local revenues through taxa
ton? If proposals are made to Con-
gress to enact this and that local
tax measure, raising tax burdens of
the District, does it mean that such
revenues will be supplemented by
proportionate increases in the Fed
eral contribution and that Congress
will recommit itself to a program of
Capital development? Or would it
mean merely that additional revenues
from higher local taxes are to be
utilized, as in the past, to decrease
the Federal contribution and furnish
no net increase in the money spent
on Capital development?
These are some of the questions
that should be answered before forms
of higher local taxation are dis
cussed.