Evening star., 1937-08-01
New Taxcs-For What?


II the imposition of approximately
50 100000 in new taxes as agreed upon
by the conferees had the effect of even
temporarily smoothing out the Districts
fiscal problems and providing a sound
program of needed Capital City i'm
provement, the cost to local taxpayers
might be justified.
AS a matter of fact, the new taxes
settle nothing. They were necessary, in
the first place, to prevent a deficit IN
rather curtailed budget of expenditures
which provides below-normal permanent
Improvements, a deficit created by fail
IRE of the National Government to meet
It's lawful obligations. Under present
estimates of their yield, the new tax rev.
enues will not stretch far beyond next
years maintenance and operating eX-
penses, with a S50O0O00 lump sum in
cluded. They will not enable the Com
miSsioners to make any substantial
progress toward provision of many and
urgently needed projects-such as a
school building program-that have
been delayed from year to year.
As for the taxpayers, the effect of the
twenty cent increase in the real
estate rate will be felt most severely by
those whose home purchase and home
maintenance budgets are already
strained to the limit. 1t will be felt
by the renters, who bitterly complain
now about the high cost of rents. 1t will
be felt by business. which. in addition.
must begin paying a new tax of 4 per
cent on gross receipts. And. as a sales
tax in disguise, the gross receipts tax will
be felt by consumers in the purchase of
those products where the increased cost
OF doing business is passed along in
higher prices
The new taxes have been described
as adding eight or nine million dollars
TO the local tax burden. But they must
be considered in connection with the
other new taxes added in recent years
Employers, for instance. are paying two
year under the Unemployment insurance
tax. The amount will be about s4OO7,-
126 in this calendar year, and next
year the tax rises to three per cent. En-
ployers and employees are paying one
per cent tax on pay rolls and wages
this year a tax bill which will amount
to S2,846000 for the current calendar
year. Old-age gratuities-taken from
the Districts general fund-amount to
about s390,000 this year and the de-
mand for such gratuities is on the in
crease. Water taxpayers. or real estate
owners, must furnish 100000 more in
higher water rates this year than last.
And employers in many lines of busi-
ness will have the cost of production in
creased shortly by application of new
and higher minimum wage standards.
AS desirable as higher minimum wages
are, the Piper must be paid in higher
prices.
An item authorizing the expenditure of
$4,000 is contained in the new tax legisla-
ton for the expense of devising some new
taxes during the next few months. Whv
this expenditure is necessary, with the
heavy pay roll at the District Building
and the many able employees in the pay of
the municipal government is an unan-
swered question. But the people of the
District must be prepared themselves at
the coming session Of Congress to demand
a really workable New Deal" as it applies
to fiscal relations and the government of
the District Of Columbia. Local tax
payers are going to be squeezed, and
squeezed hard, in the current fiscal
year. There is no indication that thev
are getting now or will receive in the
future any more efficient government
for their money. From indications at
the Capitol, in the matter of local legis-
lation, their government seems progress
sively to become worse as the expense
OF maintaining it increases.