Evening star., 1937-07-04
Kill This Tax!

Inc course of the District tax bill has
been marked throughout by a singular
disregard OF the expressed wishes of
District taxpayers as to the forms of
taxation they might choose for them
selves.
But no one would have predicted that
The fervid exhortations of one of the
lew remaining apostles of Henry George,
oeNVered IN the course of brief hear
ing before the usually careful and con-
sderate Senate District Committee
would result in the proposed one per cent
land tax that the committee has Sc
lected for inclusion in the revised version
Of the tax bill.
one may overlook AS bitter irony the
TACT that the single-taX advocate spoke
in the name of the The Peoples Lobby"
whatever that may be. But that the
Senators swallowed the bait, hook. line
and slnker and are preparing to foist
on the people of the District a highly
inequitable and damaging form OF taxa
ton is disconcerting as we'll as unbe-
lievable.
The land tax, in the first place will
do exactly what those responsible for the
tax program have all along argued should
not. under any conditions, be done. 1t
places heavy, new burden on the real
estate taxpayers, already bearing a dis
nroportionately large share of the total
tax burden. The effect of the tax in
general would be to increase the real
estate tax burden by nearly thirty per
cent. The effect of the tax in particular
would be to increase by about sixty-six
per cent the tax on land Starting out
with the idea of exempting real estate
entirely from the new taxes, the bill now
proposes to take more than half the new
taxes from real estate.
That, however, does not begin to tell
the story OF the evils in the application
OF this vicious tax. Some of these are
described in the first page article which
appears in today's Star. If you do not
understand the nature of this tax. and it's
fun implications, read that article 1t is
tax that will come down hardest on
those least able to pay it. 1t is tax
which holds out the enticing prospect of
a small saving-when considered as an
alternative to straight twenty in
crease--to the small home owner, but at
the price OF dislocating realty values and
many types of business, as we'll as throw
Ing the hooks into other small home
owners. 1t is tax that will damage this
community and it is to the personal in
terest OF every property owner, whether
he lives In fat or in q mansion to
oppose 1t and to work for its rejection if
not before the bill is reported by the
committee, then by the Senate after it
is reported.
Is 1t possible that the Senators did not
fully appreciate the nature of this land
tax and its inequitable applications Sem
ator McCarran, for instance disclosed an
erroneous impression that assessed
values here are not anywhere near sales
value Sales value, Of course, depends
on many things. But If the Senator will
only study the available data-of which
there are so much-concerning the ex-
traordinarily high standard of assessment
In Washington, he will change his opin-
Ion as to any marked difference between
real and assessed value. Said the SEN
ator:
There is differential then. between
the assessed value and the sales value
that will entirely absorb that one Der
cent, so that it will in noWise affect the
owner
And then, pray, whom will it affect?
In the first place the "differential"-
especially in downtown Washington-is
under normal conditions ininitesimallv
small In the second place, the full
effect Of the tax will not be felt by the
specula tor in real estate-in whom The
Star has no interest-but will come down
with full force upon those who own or
rent their property for the purposes of
making home or earning a livelihood
Their interests are worth protecting and
should be protected.
Other features of the Senate District
Committee tax bill will be studied and
discussed when the bill is available-in-
Guiding the strategic move by Senator
Tydings to affiX TO the bill his resale |
price maintenance amendment. opposed |
by the administration but approved by