Evening star., 1938-01-12
More and More Taxes.

More and More Taxes.
Decision to boost local taxes last year
was based on the necessity to prevent
deficit in local revenues, deficit threat
ened by lump-sum reduction and failure
to increase the Federal payment to the
District in proportion to the increase
IN budget demands.
The tax increase was sugar coated in
the beginning with the statement that
rather than increase existing taxes, the
main objective was a wider distribution of
the tax burden to take some Of the load
from already heavily burdened real estate.
In the end all existing taxes were re-
tanned and new taxes were added. Real
estate bore, as always, a heavy share
IN the increase. No taxpayer was saved
a penny. Every taxpayer was soaked.
Because OF the muddled and generally
unsatisfactory tax bill finally passed, and
the realization that Congress could not
find the time to devote to framing an
intelligent tax measure, the novel busi-
ness privilege, or gross receipts tax, con-
tanning provisions more harsh than those
found in comparable State gross receipts
taxes, was adopted as temporary" stop
gap. 1t would serve only during the
emergency" The real estate tax in
crease was likewise labeled temporary"
The business OF revising the hastily
passed and unsatisfactory revenue act
OF last year having come before the
House District Committee, the subcom-
mittee in charge has tentatively decided;
% To continue in effect both the real
estate tax boost and the business priv
nege tax. with an indefinite promise to
see whether the latter tax can be
amended.
Cd To enact local income tax-on
top Of all the other taxes with which
the District is now plastered.
In any other community these pro-
posals would be incredible. Here they
are seriously entertained by the subcom-
m1ttee In order to reach compromise,
not between the sometimes conflicting
views of the local taxpayers, but between
members Of the subcommittee. Some of
the members of the subcommittee are
opposed to local sales tax, which local
taxpayers organizations are practically
unanimous In favoring as a substitute
for the business privilege tax, while other
members are opposed to killing the uni
versally condemned business privilege
tax. So the compromise" is to retain
the business privilege tax, to retain the
higher real estate rate and to add, on top
Of these, a local income tax!
Representatives Kennedy and Pal
misano Of Maryland will have some
explaining to do to their voting Mary
land constituents should the business
privilege tax be continuation Mary
landers who have to pay this tax have
been among the foremost advocates of
Its repeal. Mr.. Dirksen and his income
takers may be able to do this year what
they thrice failed to do last year-get
the House to approve cock-eyed income
tax that naturally must tax Congress-
men and all the sojourners in the District
who retain legal residence out of Wash
ington.
These are troubles for the Congress-
men. But they are of small comfort
to the local taxpayer, who begins to
realize now that he is threatened not
merely with another increase in his cur
rent tax burden-boosted in the current
year by more than twenty five per cent
but is threatened in addition with all the
conceivable brands Of taxation that have
found favor in the forty EIGHT States.
The local taxpayer may continue to
pay and pay and pay, or he may demand
and fight for the right of representation
In his Government that not only denies
him voice in its decisions but ridicules
by singular disregard every expression of
his preference on how to be taxed.