Evening star., 1937-12-12
BY DON S. WARREN.


w WITHIN the next few weeks the
\h/ Washington taxpayer will again
" " witness, from the sidelines
renewal Of the perennial strug-
gle over enactment of an appropriation
bill for financing the needs of the Amer
ican Capital.
A day or so after Congress convenes in
January, the President will send to the
Capitol his budget message and the bulky
volume of proposed itemized expenditures
for the next fiscal year.
tucked inside this budget will be the
estimates and recommended expenditures
for the District of Columbia. What they
contain is a secret carefully guarded
against leaks to such unauthorized critics
as the District OF Columbia taxpayers, who
Will furnish about 80 per cent of the money
10 be spent. The secret will not become
public property until the Presidents mes
sage Is read After that-the deluge!
Several developments during the past
year nave added extraordinary interest in
what the budget will contain and what
its effect will be on the local taxpayer.
Paying 100000 More.
First and foremost among these is the
TACT that in this current fiscal year the
local taxpayer is paying about SO 000, 900
more IN taxes than he paid last year
AN increase of about Is per cent; more
than that, in some cases.
second, although the additional taxes
nave been imposed, it is even now ap-
parent, that the District, in spite of the
tax boost, is in little better shape to meet
the demands that have been accommodating
Tor the past several years than before taxes
were increased
And third, if the Federal payment to
the District is not increased substantially
there must be the eventual and probably
the early choice between two equally dis
NAL alternatives: First alternative. an
other boost within year or so of taxes
that are too high already; second alterna-
tlVe sharp curtailment of expenditures
that would postpone projects postponed too
long
Tax Cut Favored.
Generally speaking, the business men of
tne city favor curtailment; that is, a
curtallment OF taxes and reduction of
the pendng budget-outside of highway
improvements financed from the automo-
oHe ana gas taxes-to the level of the
current appropriations. The Commission
ers on the other hand, have proposed
budget of about $4,000 ,0O0-some 81 000-
They can finance the higher budget il Is
believed. out of the taxes now in effect
But two of these taxes were enacted
under the guise of emergency taxation"
and they automatically cease to exist, un-
less renewed, at the end of the current fiscal
year. The Commissioners have assumed
that the new taxes will remain in effect. or.
II not continued in effect. that they viii be
duplicated by other forms of taxes designed
10 raise comparable amount of revenue.
Inc taxpayer-again speaking generally
wants the two taxes to die a natural death.
The two taxes, the business privilege tax
ana the boost in the real estate rate are
distinctly unpopular. The business privi-
leee tax as argued even before its enact
ment, has become an excessive burden.
with lnequltable results on some classes of
taxpayers and the real estate tax, in pro-
portlon TO other taxes, already is far too
high.
Aim at Balanced Budget.
The Commissioners, believing at the
same time that the Federal payment should
be increased, are merely looking at the
problem from the point of view of raising
enough revenue to balance the local budget.
The taxpayer fears that if the real estate
tax boost and the business privilege tax
are merely to be killed in order to substitute
other forms of taxes he will, as usual come
out at the little end of the horn. This
business Of finding substitutes for existing
forms Of taxation, curiously enough, usually
works out in the end by piling on new
taxes instead of substitute taxes. That has
been amply demonstrated in the past
After last years f1asco at local tax re-
vision, the local taxpayer regards tax re-
vision with a jaundiced eye indeed, and
not without reason He wants the un-
popular taxes to die natural death.
If the next years budget is kept to the
level OF the current years appropriations,
1t might be possible to let the unpopular
emergency taxes 60 out of existence But
the Commissioners have predicated their
budget estimates on continuation of exist
Ing tax is-or, if some of the existing taxes
are killed, on the substitution of other taxes
yielding the same revenue. The only in
crease the taxpayers are willing to pay for
are those resulting from the automobile
ana gasoline taxes and water taxes
The Budget Bureau estimates, according
to reports, reduce the Commissioner esti-
mates. But whether the budget estimates
Will be the nnal appropriations is another
question.
Where Do Cuts Come From?
How much can the District budget be
cut?
Seventy-seven per cent of the budget for
the District is spent for education libraries,
police and fire protection, health activities
and public welfare. If there is to be any
substantial dent made in District appro-
priations, in other words, the cutting must
.oeme out Of the money spent for schools
and libraries, police and fire protection,
public health protection and public welfare.
The District taxpayer knows the diff
ficulty of cutting into any of these highly
important services. Can we get along with
fewer schools or school teachers in the face
of the demand for q building program of