Evening star., 1938-06-21
PLANS BE|NGLA|D
f0RD.C.STUDYT0
OVERHAUL TAXES
New, Permanent Program
Is Expected to Come From
Congressional Survey.
DONOVAN AND COUNSEL
FOR Committee CONFER
End Of Imposition of Emergency
Levies Each Year May
Follow Legislation.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

The Joint Congressional Committee
on Internal Revenue Taxation made
preparations today to undertake an
exhaustive survey Of the entire Dis
trict tax structure in obedience to in
structions in the 1899 District Appro-
priation Act.
Out of the committees study is ex-
pected to come a new and permanent
tax raising program to supplant the
temporary emergency plans developed
by Congress to keep the municipal gov
eminent from running into the red in
the last two years.
Headed by Senator Pat Harrison.
Democrat, of Mississippi. the commit
tee is expected to determine within the
next few weeks just what procedure to
follow in making the investigation. An
appropriation of $4,000 is carried in
the final deficiency supply bill to
finance the study.
Survey Agency Undecided.
One Of the important questions to be
decided is whether the survey is to be
made by the committees own staff of
tax experts, or whether the job is to be
farmed out to an outside agency. The
District Appropriation Act gives the
committee authority to take either
course It merely stipulates that the
study shall be under the direction of
the committee.
The committees staff of tax experts
already faces big job in connection
with contemplated overhauing of the
Nations internal revenue tax laws in
the new Congress. and it is likely the
study of the District tax structure will
be assigned to private concern, sub
ject, of course, to the committees su-
pervision.
Aside from Senator Harrison, the
committee is composed of Senators
King of Utah and George Of Georgia.
Democrats, and Capper of Kansas, Re-
publican, and Representative Dough-
ton, North Carolina; Cullen of New
York and Sanders of Texas. Demo-
Gratis, and Treadway of Massachu-
sets and Crowther of New York, Re-
pupllcans.
Colin F. Stam, counsel for the joint
committee, conferred late yesterday
with Maj. Daniel ]. Donovon, District
auditor and budget officer, to lay the
groundwork for the tax study. Neither
Mr.. STAN nor Maj. Donovan would
discuss the conference, but it is un-
derstood the former left the District
= Building with pertinent data relating
to the Districts financial situation and
Its present sources of revenue.
To Cover Broad Field.
The tax study is expected to be the
most comprehensive one ever under
taken. It will 60 beyond the usual
formula of revenue sources, assessment
bases and tax rates, and include also
the taxes paid the District by the va
ripus utility corporations.
The Fiscal Affairs Subcommittee of
the House District Committee, which
has written the last two emergency
revenue acts for the District, actually
initiated the investigation. The men,
bers did not want to return to Wash
ington in January confronting another
problem of framing legislation that
would produce sufficient revenue to
preclude budget deficit.
The subcommittee idea was to have
before it a program that could be
adopted as permanent, which would
save the Commissioners from return
ing to Congress every year and plead
ing for legislation that would raise
enough revenue to balance the annual
budget.