Evening star., 1934-10-26
MOTORISTS FACE
HIGHER TAXES AS
VALUES INCREASE
LoWer-Priced Cars Shown
Worth More on Basis of
Used Car 90 Red Book"
SAME REPORT SHOWED
LOWER VALUE IN JULY
Last Years Average Personal Tax
of $3.50 on Cars Held Far
Under States.

Many Washington motorists will
pay more personal taxes on their
automobiles next year, even though
the machines be year older from
the standpoint of usage.
It is all due to an increase in used
car values in the lower price class,
as reported by the National Used Car
Market, publishers of the "red book"
used in computing the values for
taxation purposes.
Although no official estimate Is
available at this time, there are many
models of automobiles which have
risen in value" even after having
been used for a year. This is par
ticularly true of the lower-priced
class, although the increase is not
uniform and in. some cases there are
decreases.
Follow Report Values.
According to Deputy Assessor
Charles A. Russell, the District this
year is following its usual practice of
using the cash sale value of cars as
listed in the Used Car Market Re-
port, popularly known as the Red
Book. No exceptions are made to
the values given in this book, regard
less of the condition Of the car.
Examination of the values shows
that in many cases a 1888 car is
priced higher in the october l issue
of the Red Book than the same car
was in the same issue for last year,
in spite of the fact that the car has
deprecated by a years use. The tax
is $3.50 per 500 value of the car,
so that each increase of $l00 on a
given car will mean that the owner
will have to pay $l.50 more to the
District in taxes He must pay his
personal property tax before he re-
ceives his 1885 tags.
Code Authority Values Up.
Since January l the Code Authority
for the secondhand automobile busi-
ness also has published lists of used
car values, and an automobile dealer
familiar with both lists informed The
Star that in many cases the values
given are identical, and often there is
only 81 or 50 difference in the two
ratings.
In the case of 1888 model Ford
eights, the Red Book shows increases
in valuations between July, 1888, and
October, 1884, as follows: Coupe, S370
to $432, an increase of $62; tudor
sedan-5, $370 to $440, an increase
of $40; four-door sedan, $400 to $46l,
an increase of $61: victoria, SAILS to
S448, an increase of $33.
chnyIyr1 in tho rnod-
ster-2, S340 to $3.50, a decrease of
s51; roadster-2-4, $3.50 to s304, de-
crease of SAC; phateton-5, $3.50 to
1904, a decrease of $26, and roadster
de luxe, 1865 to $346, decrease OF
$19.
In the Chevrolet line a comparison
between values in July, 1888, and Oc-
tober, 1884, shows that the coupe-2
has gone up from 1920 to 1858. an
increase of S33; the coupe-2-4 from
$345 to $375, an increase of $50, and
the coach-5 from 1925 to 1899. an
increase of $74.
Prices on line of 1888 six-cylinder
Plymouths have increased between
october, 1888, and october, 1884, as
fellows
Convertible coupe from $685. to
$422, an increase of $37; two-door
sedan, 1855 to $419, an increase Of
$64; four-door sedan, $3.50 to s437,
an increase of $57; coupe-2. $345 to
1887, an increase of S42, and
coupe-2-4, from 1865 to $421, an in
crease of S56.
Showed Declines in July.
Strangely enough, the value fig
ures all showed declines in July, 1884,
which were more than offset by in
creases in the last three months Thus
the coupe-2, which was valued at
1920 in July, 1888, decreased in value
to $3.50 in July, 1884, and the same
car increased again to the high figure
of 1888 in October, 1884. Similarly
the coupe-2-4, valued at $345 in July,
1888, dropped to $275 in July, 1884,
and then rose again to $375 in Octo-
Der, 1884, and the coach-5, valued
at 1925 in July, 1888, dropped to $275
in July, 1884, and rose to 1899 in
October, 1884.
Commenting on the increases, Mr..
Russell said that he felt they repre-
sented more nearly the true value
of the cars than last years figures,
which he had always considered too
low. He said that the average motor
ist in the District last year had paid
$3.50 personal property tax and that
the average in the States, not includ-
ing the District, was approximately
$13.
There are 177,361 automobiles of
all sorts Gncluding trucks and trail
ers) in the District, so that an aver
age increase of SO cents in the tax
would mean an increase in total taxes
of about $4,000. II has been re-
ported that the increase migth be
about 100000, but Russell said it
was impossible to predict what it
might amount to in cash at this time
The assessors Office is now busy
mailing out assessment slips. approx
mately $4,000 to 10000 having been
sent out in preparation for sale of
the 1885 tags.