Evening star., 1935-11-24
eavily Increased Taxation for the District Threatened

And under the infienble lump-sum
payment plan Congress limits itself
concerning expenditures on the Ma
tons City of tax money contributed
by the Nation, which it represents,
but removes the limit upon the raising
and expenditure of the tax money by
the District, which it does not repre-
sent and TO which it is not at all
responsible. And as a result we have
appropriations from the District tax
money abnornally swelling to meet
whole-cost expenditures on national
and semi-national projects.
To prevent injustice, the President
Is asked either Q) to recommend
substantial increase in the basic lump
sum payment in the pending 1886 es-
Inmates for the District, and (2) to
propose the exclusion of great national
or semt-national projects from the
District bill and their financing on
some other supply bill, so wording the
items thus excluded as to set forth
the exact method of financing in re-
lation to the amounts of contribution
by Nation and Capital that is thought
to be just, or 90 propose to Congress
the provision of local as we'll as
national maximum of contribution, or
% recommend to the Congress that,
by referendum or otherwise, the local
taxpayers be permitted to have some
effective say in regard to the amount
Of local taxes and the purposes for
which the tax money is to be ex-
pended.
The President is respectfully urged
to give consideration to the fact that
since the Nation is in exclusive control
Of the raising and spending of all
Capital revenue, including the District
tax money, the United States is the
primary and the District only the in
cidental contributor, and not vice
versa, as the present lump-sum pay
ment plan seems to assume.
District Only Incidental Contributor.
Protection was afforded the local
taxpayer under the 1873 law not only
by the provision that the Nation would
contribute so per cent of the total
appropriation, but also by the assur-
ance that the local taxpayers would
not be compelled to contribute more
than so per cent of the total So in
the law Of 1922 the effect of the
statute was to pledge the local tax
payers that not more than go per
cent of the total tax would be exacted
from them. When the lump-sum pay
ment plan was substituted tentatively
for the 60-40 ratio this pledge was
suspended, but it was suggested that
an effective substitute for this pledge
was found in the declared determina-
ton of Congress under the lump-sum
payment plan to give the local tax
payers a certain control over their
own tax raising and tax spending, in
volving the power to be extravagant or
economical. and to spend as much or
little of their own tax money as they
pleased. But Congress in fact limited
its power to expend national tax
money, and left undetermined the
amount of local tax money that it
could expend. And it has exercised
this power without regard to the
wishes of the taxpayers to raise and
spend local taxes not only for strictly
municipal purposes. but for semi
national and primarily national
projects.
1t is to correct this condition that
We, representing Washington, now urge
the President. in considering the Dis
trict budget, to recommend increase of /.
the Nations lump-sum contribution |