Evening star., 1939-06-19

House or senate appropriation DlilS
for 1910 is inevitable without an
other drastic increase in local taxes
OF an increase in the Federal pay
ment.
Senator Overton of Louisiana has
proposed his formula as an amend
ment to the tax bill now pending il
the Senate District Committee. 1t
is distinctly in order as an amend
ment to that bill because the House
included a provision limiting the
Federal payment to SIS 900, 900.
What is the Overton formula? How
does it work? What part would it
play in settling the troublesome and
harmful dispute every year over the
District appropriation bill?
Exempt Property in Washington.
The National obligation in support
of the District which is first thought
of by the average person familiar
with Washington is based upon the
large percentage of District area
with improvements held by the Ma
tional Government exempt from tax
alton, to the cost of the expensive
maintenance of which the District
taxpayer contributes both in local
and National taxes.
Senator Overton has used this
principle in the proposal of for
mula that has received the indorse-
ment of local citizens and municipal
officials. For the problem repre-
sented by decreasing percentage OF
taxable area in the District, together
with the increasing amount of tax
exempt land and the constantly
growing expenses of the Capital
City, is one that soon or late must
find some equitable solution.
That the problem here is one
peculiar to Washington alone is
demonstrated by that fact that in
81 cities of the United States. only
48 per cent of the exempt property
is held by the Federal Government.
But in Washington the comparable
percentage reaches 80.6.
The ratio of exempt to total prop
erty in the District is now something
over Al per cent, an increase in the
past eight years of 38 per cent. Dur
ing the same period there has been a
Is per cent increase in the amount
of other exempt property as COM
pared with an increase of only II
per cent in the valuation of total
property.
What the Overton Plan Does.
Senator Overton's formula disre-
CARDS valuation of property as a
basis for measurement and takes
acreage as the base. A simplified ex-
planation of how it works is this:
Take the total Federally- owned
property in the District Qess street
area and add to it the amount of
park property in Washington in
excess of the average park property
in comparable cities of the United
States The total is 1910. There are
1929 acres in the land area in the
District of Columbia. The Federal
acreage plus the excess park area
in the District represents 1896 per
cent of this 1928 acre total.
Under the Overton formula this
percentage-19. .96-would be applied
to the general fund appropriations
each year by Congress. Assuming
these appropriation to be $4,000
000-approximately the figure rec
commended this year by the House
and something below the figure rec
commended by the Senate-and the
Federal payment would be some
thing less than $8,000,000.
The Overton formula would solve,
in part. the riddle presented by the
constantly increasing percentage of
tax-exempt land in the District. AS
this increased. the Federal payment
would also increase. If there were
decreases, the Federal payment
would decrease Other advantages
are that the payment thus de-
cided in advance would allow for
advanced financial planning; would
eliminate the annual cause of time
wasting and acrimonious contro-
versy over the amount of the
Federal payment and would begin a
new chapter in development of the
Capital.
Facing Steady Increase in Taxes.
Unless the Overton formula, or
something approximating it in the
results to be achieved, is made q
part of the pending tax bill or 9TH
erwise incorporated into law in ref
erence to District appropriations
the local taxpayers are facing a
steadily increasing burden of taxes
without enjoying the results which
usually accompany increased mu-
nicipal revenue In Washington dur
ing the past decade and half the re-
duction of the lump sum has been
brought about not by any diminish
ing needs but by the use of local
tax revenues to offset the decrease
in the Federal payment. Taxpayers
have increased local revenues by
about 100 per cent in the past Is
years. AS pointed out by the Com
missioners in their statement sup
porting the Overton plan, real
estate has borne an 83 per cent
increase; other taxes have increased
1l5.6 per cent; license fees are yield
ing an increase of $3.50 per cent.
Local taxes have about reached
the maximum level practical in a
community that is handicapped in
taxpaying ability by certain inherent
disabilities.
Excessive Street Area.
OF the area of the original City of
Washington the Nation retained in
streets, reservations'and donated lots
about five-sevenths.
1t sold the donated lots. implicitly
promising to purchasers in its ad-
vertisting some relief from expense
of municipal improvements, such as
street opening and improvement,
etc.
Not half of the original city
(within old Boundary street, re-
mained taxable.
What an excessively large area of
streets and avenues withheld from
taxation and to be opened and i'm
proved meant to the taxpayers who
owned tho oi,,;N 10 fro on{toV,