Evening star., 1937-07-07

inum prices for resale of trade-marked
commodities.
On examining the completed re-
draft OF the bill today, McCarran said
he did not like collection of sales
tax on meals served in restaurants.
He said he thought the committee
had voted to exempt all food as well
as all medicines and clothing. In its
present form the bill would not exempt
food consumed on the premises where
prepared and purchased.
Nevadan Sponsored Sales Tax.
The Navadan. whose task it will be
to guide the measure through the
Senate, sponsored the special land tax
of 81 per hundred of assessed value,
which was coupled with the sales levy
In the rewriting of the House bill.
When that time does come, it is
expected the revenue bill, designed to
meet the Districts impending s7000,-
900 deficit, will have to come up by
unanimous consent in ordr not to dis
plac tn court bill. and that means that
II long fight on the District measure
should develop, those in charge of the
court bill could call for the regular
order, which would again sidetrack
the tax program.
Even if the various tax changes
made by the Senate Committee are
voted on promptly. there is danger
of a controversy developing over the
Tydings amendment.
Meanwhile, the District Government
gradually is using up its available
funds, and the date is approaching
when the Commissioners should fix
the property tax rate in order to give
the assessors Office time to prepare
the ledgers and bills for September
payment.
The rate on real estate and tangible
personal property, however, is one of
the issues unsettled in the tax bill
with the House and Senate commit
tees advocating different propositions
Real estate, which already bears
jor part of the city's general fund
requirements, would produce $780,
900 toward the S7,0OO,0 900 deficit under
the House proposal to raise the pres
ent tax rate from sl50 to sl70 on
land and improvements. The Senate
committee has thrown out that propo-
sition and adopted an entirely new
system by placing a rate Of $3.50 per
500 on all land, whether improved
or unimproved. while retaining the
$3.50 rate on improvements This will
require property owners to put up S4,-
100000 of the total required to meet
the deficit. The Washington Tax
payers Association has appealed to
the Senate to reject this heavy real
estate burden.
Restaurant Meals Taxed.
Details of the sales tax amendment
became available yesterday afternoon,
showing that meals served in res
taurants will be subject to the 2 per
cent tax. Food not consumed on the
premises where prepared, however,
will be exempt, together with all
clothing and medicines
All alcoholic beverages. soft drinks,
candy and confectionery would be
subject to the tax. Gasoline, on which
there Is an existing special tax, would
be exempt from the sales tax
Representative Bigelow, Democrat.
OF Ohio, one of the House single tax
advocates, late yesterday renewed his
Endorsement of the Senate plan for
imposing an additional tax of ST per
500 of assessment on land value. His
views were contained in a 1,0O0-word
statement, which follows, in part:
Commissioner Hazen thinks s25 a
thousand, which the Senate bill puts
upon land value, is too high. 1 don't
think 1t is high enough. There are
two reasons for keeping the tax on
land values high: Cd To discourage
boosting land prices by speculation,
and CD to divert to public use some
OF the unearned increment which at
taches to land because of Govern
ment services and other social ad-
vantages.
But no such reasons exist for
taxing buildings. You can keep the
price OF land down by taxing it,
The more you tax land, the more
you lower its selling price. But Just
the reverse is true of buildings. The
more you tax buildings, the dearer
they become. That is elementary
economics.
THE House bill makes for high
rents, because it reduces the tax on