Evening star., 1936-10-11
CITIZENS TO CARRY.
D. C. FISCAL FIGHT
TO TAX COMMITTEE
Appeal for Fair Formula TO
Be Made Through !
Federation. |
z REPRESENTATIVES BIB
TO HEARINGS OCT. 23.24
T. o. Lodge and L. A. Carruthsrs
to Attend-Latter Plans tol
File Report. Z
BY LANES e. CHINN.

DI Jh1ukO Z. CnINN.
Organized citizenship of the Distr1ct
virtually completed arrangements hst
night to carry the fight for fair and
equitable treatment of the District fby
the Federal Government directly to
the committee of tax experts appointed
by President Roosevelt to solve t1s
long troublesome fiscal relations
problem.
Through the Federation of Citizens
Associations, Washingtons clearing
house of civic thought. the organized
citizens plan to appeal to the COM
mittee to adopt q formula for fixing
the amount Of the annual Federal con.
tribution toward District expenses that
will include all elements that conHi.
tute a financial burden on Washington
because 1t is the seat of the National
Government.
J. L. Jacobs, Chicago efficiency en-.
gineer and tax authority, who is direct
ing the Presidents exhaustive fsess
relations survey, has invited two feder-
alton representatives to appear at the
public hearings he has scheduled for
October % and "A. One will be Thomas
E. Lodge, federation president, and the
other, L. A. Carruthers, chairman of
the organizations Fiscal Relations
Committee:
Carruthers to File Report.
Prior to the public hearing Carruth-
ers said he could file report with the
committee outlining his views as to
what constitutes q fair basis for de-
termining the Federal share Of ex-
penses toward the operation and main
tenance of the municipal government.
Carruthers will place emphasis on
one factor the now defunct United
States Bureau Of Efficiency took into
consideration eight years ago when it
made a comprehensive fiscal relations
study-the value of tax exempt Federal
holdings in the District. The efficiency
bureau found at that time that the
Federal obligation exceeded $4,000
600, or more than double the IS 600 900
appropriated for the current fiscal
year. *
The latest report OF Fred Allen. Dis
trict tax assessor, disclosed that the
tax exempt Federal property in Wash
ington amounts to $649, 725, ,156, or
nearly 81 per cent greater than it was
six years ago when the Federal lump
sum contribution was $4,000 900.
Would Eliminate Shrines.
Aliens figures include all Govern
ment-owned property, the Capitol.
Washington Monument and other
structures regarded as national shrines.
Carruthers, however, believes such
shr.nes should be eliminated and the
amount of the Government property
figured entirely on the basis Of its
utilitarian character. In other wordA
he thinks Government buildings used
and useful in the public service, which
could be placed in the category Of
privately owned office buildings, should
be the only property listed in arriving
at the value of Federal holdings for
the purpose of determining the saw
ings in taxation to the United States.
Carruthers also will urge the com.
mittee to give serious consideration to
the added cost Of operating the mu.
nicipal government due to the stand
ard wage scale of its employees which
has been made to conform with that
of the Federal Government, In &C.
cordance with the Redistribution act.
In this connection he will stress other
factors that have proved costly to the
District because of the movement. to
make Washington the most beautiful
capital city in the world.
Other Organizations Invited.
Besides the federation. Jacobs has
invited a number of other organisa-
tions vitally interested in the fiscal
relations problem to appear at the
hearing. These include the Citizens
Joint Committee on Fiscal Relations,
the Washington Board Of Trade, the
Central Labor Union, the washington
Real Estate Board and the Washing.
ton Taxpayers Association.
Prior to the hearing Jacobs plans
to complete an analysis of 4s reports
submitted by department heads of the
municipal government showing bene.
fits reaped by the Federal Govern
ment at District expense Each report
discloses in dollars and cents how
much the United States Government
would have had to pay for services 1t
received from the District in the last
II years If it could have been ta3ed
as an ordinary taxpayer.
Details Of these reports have not
been made public. but it is understood
the services listed by the department.
heads would cost the Federal Govern-
ment nearly double each year Che
$5,00o,00 lump sum payment this
voar touyo ~ nisfrict svpapess