Evening star., 1939-06-16

liens Advisory Tax Committee to
the District Commissioners follows:
Gentlemen:
"At your request the Advisory
Committee on the Study of Tax
Structure of the District of Co.
lumbia met to consider the tax
structure of the District of Columbia
as set up in the H. r. 6577 (Seventy-
sixth Congress. first session.. passed
by the House on June 13, 1899, and
now referred to the Committee on
the District of Columbia of the
Senate.
THE committee, after consider
alton of H. r. 6577, by an affirmative
vote lone member not voting), ad-
heres to its former recommendation
as set forth in letter to Hon. Will
liam H. King of the Joint Committee
on Internal Revenue Taxation,
dated January 13, 1889, and accom-
panying the report of DR.. Chester
B. Pond, director of the District of
Columbia tax study, and Colin F..
STAN, chief OF staff, Joint Commit
tee on Internal Revenue Taxation,
submitted to Senator King on jan
uary l3, 1899.
Pond Report Reviewed.
TN the letter from the Advisory
Committee to Senator King the
Advisory Committee concurred in
the recommendation made by DR..
Pond and Mr.. STAN in the report,
now known as the Pond report.
Such report was the result of a
thorough survey and study of the
tax structure of the District of Co.
lumbia by DR.. Pond and Mr.. STAN
and recommended, in the opinion
OF the committee, the best tax
structure for the District of Co.
lumbia. 1t is the first scientific and.
in our opinion, the most practical
approach to the solution of the tax
question in the District of Colum-
bia, which is unique and which pre-
sents many difficulties for solution.
The Advisory Committee consists of
f1ve officials of the District of Co.
lumbia and five citizens of the Dis
trict Of Columbia and undoubtedly
represents a cross-section of the
thought of the District of Columbia
on matters of taxation. The rec
concentrations of the Advisory Com
mlttee were submitted as q tax pro-
gram for the District, not only for
the ensuing fiscal year, but for sew
eral years to come, and 1t was the
thought Of the committee that by
its adoption the labor and annoy-
ance attendant upon the annual
formulation Of tax legislation for
the District would be greatly les
sened, If not entirely eliminated.
THE cardinal principle in the tax
program recommended in the Pond
report was combination of a sales
and income tax, wherein the in
come tax was to be used to over
come the inequalities of a sales tax
as related to incomes of $4,000 and
in the higher brackets of earned in
come. and to recover, to a larne ex-
tent, by an income tax on unearred
income the revenue which would be
lost to the District by the repeal
OF the tax upon intangible personal
property. as recommended in the
Pond report. BY such combination
the tax structure would have been
properly balanced and fair and
would have been equitable to all tax
payers.
Otherwise Keep Present Plan.
Should the Congress refuse to
adopt the plan recommended in the
Pond report, and concurred in by
the Advisory Committee, then it is
the Judgment of the Advisory Com
mittee that it would be to the best
interest Of the District and its citi-
zens if the present tax structure in
cluding a business privilege tax
(Which expires by own Limitation on
June 80, 1880, with certain modi-
f1cations, be continued for another
year. 1t is the Judgment of your
committee that the present tax
structure imposes a far more evenly
distributed tax burden than that
set up IN H. R. 6577. Its continu-
ance Is far more desirable than the
dlsarrangement of the tax structure
that would necessarily follow the
enactment of H. R. 6577 as passed
by the House. 1t is highly desirable,
indeed 1t is almost imperative. that
tax program for the District of
Columbia for the ensing year be
speedily enacted into law. Your Ad-
visory Committee believes that there
is not sufficient time available for a
thorough study of the tax structure
as set up in H. R. 6577. In order to
make such study the present tax