Evening star., 1944-07-12
Substitute Taxes
urgedatHearing
|0n Sales Levy
Porode Of Arlington,
| Alexandria Officials
Condemns Proposal

Condemns Proposal
Increases in the Virginia income
tax were urged yesterday as a sub.
stitute for State sales tax by ON.
cials OF Northern Virginia communi.
ties who opposed any sales levy at a
Legislative Advisory COMMITTEES
hearing In Alexandria.
In an au-day session at the Alex.
andria USO on North Washington
street, the seven-man committee.
headed by DR.. Upton r. Snavely of
the University of Virginia, heard
witnesses condemn with monotonou,
regularity the whole theory of .
sales tax.
In addition to proposing higher
income taxes, witnesses suggested
increased license taxes on merchants
IN preference to levy they said
would drive trade out of the area.
depress real estate values, and kill
the goose that lays the golden egg"
Lawmakers Oppose Sales Tax.
State Senator'S William D. Med.
ley, Arlington, and Andrew w,
Clarke. Fairfax; Delegates j. May
nard Magruder, Arlington, and w.
Selden Washington, Alexandria. and
former Delegate Maurice Rosenberg.
Alexandria, all voiced opposition to
sales tax except as an emergency
measure.
Col. Christopher Garnett. repre-
senting the Arlington Chamber of
Commerce, presented a 23-page
brief discussing the entire tax his
tory OF the State and opposing the
tax as unequal, uncertain, arbitrary
and OF advantage only to out-of-
State merchants"
He said Arlington's 1e43 sales
totaled $40,293,771 and predicted
that many Arlington merchants
would be forced into bankruptcy by
a sales tax.
Advocating frequent reassessment
OF real estate, Col. Garnett said the
Legislature should take an interest
In local assessments before adopting
a poor mans tax"
Arlington County Manager Frank
G. Hanrahan likened the sales tax
idea to a polecat-"pretty to talk
about, but it smells just as bad"
Joseph M. Pancoast. Alexandria
city attorney, representing the city
as well as the Chamber of Com
merce, stated that the sales tax
violates the principle of the ability
to pay and would handicap estab-
hshment OF small business by re.
turning servicemen, invite adminis-
trative dihiculties and injure busi-
ness In Northern Virginia, where
the tax could be avoided by pur.
chases in Washington.
Cites d. c. Competition.
He pointed out that so per cent Of
Alexandria's population commutes
to Washington and might make all
their purchases there.
Mr.. Pancoast said Alexandria q
455 merchants showed sales of $24,-
300, 900 in 1943 and that the growing
population of the city points to in
creased revenue from other tax
sources in the future.
Frederick +. Flynn. representing
the Alexandria Retail Merchants
Association, stated that the expect
ed increase in sales of gasoline.
liquor and other taxed commodities
after the war would increase rev.
enue without a sales levy. He added
that in addition to competition with
Washington stores, Northern Vir-
ginia merchants are faced with in
creasing competition from mail
order houses not subject to the tax.
Mr.. Flynn asked what assurance
there would be that public schools
would get all the benefit of the tax
If the receipts went into a general
fund, and he decried the fact that
the school system would be depend
ent for revenue on general business
conditions If the tax were segregated
for school purposes.
Lawrence Douglas. Arlington COM
monwealth's attorney; Edmund
Campbell, member of the county
Board of Supervisors, and Charles
Cobbins. representing the Arling-
ton County Civic Federation, also
presented the countys case against
q sales tax
Life and Death Matter"
According to Mr.. Campbell, 1T Is
a life and death matter to Arling-
ton." and the first time that the
various county factions are united
in an opinion.
Oren r. Lewis, representing the
Arlington Board of Trade and the
county Republican committee, sug-
gested economy in other State de-
partments to provide school funds
instead of passing a bill which, he
said, is actually designed to reduce
real estate taxes. Real estate own
ers compose the group best able to
afford taxation, he said.
Mrs. Sara Hartman D'Avila, rep
resenting the Public Affairs Group
of the CIO, advocated increased cor
poration taxes and higher income
taxes in the upper brackets instead
of sales tax.
Mrs. T. Clifton Howard. Alexan-
dria, voiced the opposition of the
American War Mothers. while G. F.
Holsinger, representing the Virginia
Farm Bureau Federation. added the
objections of the farmers.
Farmers will have to replace
equipment after the war when farm
prices are low and wages and equip
ment costs high, Mr. Holsinger said,
and consequently they would bear a
disproportionate share of State tax