Evening star., 1938-03-30
COMMITTEE GETS
DISTRICT TAXB|LL;;
CHANGES LIKELY
Special Session Tuesday
Set-Report to Floor Due
Within Two Weeks.
HOUSE CONSIDERATION
ON APRIL II SOUGHT
Opposition to 81, 100000 in Levies
Expected-Income Exemptions
May Be Assailed.

The revised edition of the Districts
1899 revenue bill with its proposals to
tap various new sources of revenue, in
cluding the incomes of everybody who
works in washington except members
of Congress and a few other selected
groups, was literally dumped into the
lap of the full House District Commit
committee which has taken more thar
two months to develop the plan.
Every detail of the new tax pro-
gram must be passed on by the full
for consideration. and indications are
some important changes may be made
before that happens.
AS soon as Chairman Nichols OF the
subcommittee formally reported the
bill to the full committee, arrange
ments were made for special execu-
tive session Tuesday to consider it.
The full committee plans to report the
measure to the House in time for its
consideration April II, the first Dis
trict day of the month.
Principal opposition, it was init
mated, will come from those members
of the committee who do not believe
any additional taxes should be imposed
that will raise more revenue than the
District will need in the coming fiscal
year to balance its budget. In its
present form, the bill is estimated to
raise about s5,30o,0O0, or ST, 100000 in
excess of the anticipated deficit of
s3,7O0,O0O.
Exemptions Face Opposition.
Some opposition also is expected to
develop in the committee to the plan
to exempt members of Congress, their
nonresident secretaries, cabinet Of
ficers, members of the Federal judici-
ary and even the President from pay
ment of the proposed income tax.
These special exemptions were writ
ten into the bill because the House last
year turned down the 1888 revenue bill
when 1t called for tax on the salaries
OF members of Congress. As this Is
election year, some of the committee
members are said to feel that q vote
in favor of the special exemptions
might be harmful in November.
Opponents of the plan to continue
the existing SITS real estate tax rate
are preparing for an attack on this
feature OF the bill, largely on the
ground $1.65 levy, together with the
other producing proposals, will
yield sufficient revenue to balance the
budget.
In addition to an income tax and
continuation of the $1.75 real estate
rate, the bill provides for a local tax
OF rs cents barrel on beer. The beer
levy is estimated to yield about $780,
600 year.
Beer Tax Faces Fight.
Even the beer tax is expected to
meet opposition, especially from Chair
man Palmisano and Representative
Kennedy, Democrat, of Maryland,
both of whom live in Baltimore, which
produces about 25 per cent of the beer
sold in Washington. These two men,
bers registered strong protest against
beer tax when it was first considered
by the subcommittee.
Decision of the subcommittee to
abandon a plan to raise the present
local tax on distilled spirits from so
cents to 81 a gallon, served to save
hard liquor consumers in the District
about $1,200000 year. The main rea-
son the subcommittee scrapped this
proposal according to Chairman
Nichols. was to save the tax revenue
from liquor that might flow to nearby
Maryland and Virginia if retail prices
should be advanced in Washington.