Evening star., 1935-11-24
TAX STUDY REPORT.
IS DUE WEDNESDAY.
Committee to Seek Greater
U. S. Share With Any In
creased Levy Plan.

lens, with indications any proposals
for tax increases will be coupled with
recommendations for a boost in the
Federal payment.
Commissioner Hazen promised yes
terday public hearing would be
granted after the committees report
IS received and before the Commits
sioners adopt any new program. The
committee findings are expected to be
placed before the Commissioners
Wednesday.
The committee has before it mass
of data on total District revenues,
the downward trend in recent years
Of the Federal lump sum payment,
and a corresponding downward trend
in funds available for Capital outlay
such as school buildings, libraries and
other permanent investments.
& All Members Not Agreed.
Cursory study of these figures in
dfcated to some officials the District
would need in future years some
$7,000,000 more in revenues. This
was on the assumption that the Dis
V14IG UQlldy AL
be doubled, and on the assumption
revenues from present sources would
Increase only normally.
1t was disclosed last night, however,
not all members of the committee
are yet convinced the increased reve-
nue. needs will amount to as much as
S7,O00,000, year by year.
their problems the Washington Tax
payers Protective Association yester-
day turned its guns on suggestions
for millions in new taxes.
Charging that Washington has
s'Very expensive municipal govern
ment," the association, through its
secretary, Rufus S. Lusk, declared
zone reason for the high cost Of our
government is the tremendous staff it
maintains and the high salaries paid"
Lusk declared the contemplated new
taxes would boost the per capita tax
Of Washington to an all-time high
level.
The Tax Committee is headed by
Corporation Counsel E. Barrett Pret-
lyman. Other members are Maj.
Daniel j. Donovan, auditor; William
P. Richards assessor Richmond B.
Keech of the Utilities Commission,
William A. Roberts, peoples counsel,
and Capt. H. C. Whitehurst, director
of highways.
=, Some District officials, 1t was
learned, are impressed by new align
ment of comparisons of the trends
in recent years Of four main elements
In the situation. These are: Federal
payment, the amounts for capital I'M
provements. the unappropriated sur
plus and the total size of the budget.
From 1925 through 1880 the Fed
zeral payment was $9,000,000. The
next two years it was S9500,0
Thereafter the record reveals now
Congress welded the knife on amounts
it appropriated toward sharing Dis
trict costs. The figure was cut to
S7,775 900 in 1882: and then in sue
.cessive years to $5,700,000.
The outlay permitted by Congress
for permanent Improvements reached
its peak in 1881, with figure of $16,-
040,378. Officials observed that that
was the year when the Federal pay
ment was $9,500,000 The next year
the figure was S14,1891O2, and then
dropped in 1888 to s8,831 1874, then
to $4,037881, to $5,513,071, and to S.
582,59 in 1884, 1885 and 1885 This
small outlay for the last three years
is a major concern of the tax COM
mittee
Large Surpluses Built Up.
As to surplus the committee recalls
that in the six years ending with
1890 the District had built up COM
paratively large sums, which Congress
had not allowed to be spent for i'm
.prcvements. At that time, however,
the committee record shows Congress
Launched the District on a program
OF building an immensely costly new
municipal center, and appropriated
,$3,000000 in 1880 and 1881 for the
site purchase. Other sums were added
later.
The process of consuming the Dis
trict's annual surplus proceeded rap
idly, member of the committee OBJ
served, and at the end of the fiscal
year 1888, the District wound up
with deficit of $62,742.
Beginning with 1884 fiscal year
the District again began to accumu-
late an unappropriated surplus-the |
figure for the end of 1884 was
S4,646,495. At the end of 1885 it was
$5,148,349. And it is estimated there |
will be surplus of $3,175, 1922 at the |
end of this fiscal year, 1886.
Rebuilding of surplus funds in 1884 |
and 1885 is attributed largely to the |
economy salary cuts and small out
lays for improvements.
Mr.. Lusk will appear before the
Budget Bureau tomorrow to state the
views Of the Taxpayers Association
on the proposed $47,ooO,OO0 budget |
for the next fiscal year. He said In |
his statement last night:
'"The contemplated new taxes pro-
posed by committee Of District Of
f1cials would boost the per capita tax
of washington to its all-time high. It |
would be over SIS per capita sSsum-
ing that the population is $4,000, an
ample estimate. This local tax bur-
den, plus the federal income and |
other federal concealed taxes would |
mean that everybody in Washington |
may look in 1887 to having easily 25 |
per cent Of his income extracted by
the tax collector. This would be
greater than the proportion paid by
the Britisher, who is supposed to be
the most heavily taxed individual in
the world
ait is unfortunate that District Of |
ficialS, largely as the result Of the
activities Of pressure groups, have had
TO devote so much time to devising
new ways Of raising more money and
increasing taxes rather than studying
methods Of saving that might prevent
such tax increases.