Evening star., 1946-02-27
Swift Passage
OF Road Tax Bill.
Seems Assured
Virginia House Beots
Plon to Block Repeal
OfLevy on Carriers
By Alex R. Preston
Stor S&oH Crrrssn~nI>~x

ss'SN Ne sSStVu
Stor Sfoff corrsspondsnt "A
RICHMOND, Feb. 27.-Swift pas
sage by the House of Delegates O
the administrations road tax pro
gram appeared assured today afte
an amendment by Delegate c. q
Quesenbury, Waynesboro, to proven
the repeal of the 2 per cent gros
receipts tax on common and con
tract carriers was defeated by 4,
vote Of IS to II.
The House then voted So to 80 t,
advance the bill to passing stage
but final action was deferred unit
today when it became apparen
the required four-fifths majorit.
could not be obtained to suspend
constitutional readings of th'
measure.
; In contrast to Mondays session
when it passed 81 bills at q two.
per minute clip, the House yester.
day failed to pass a single measur,
but merely advanced to passing
stage noncontroversial bills so as tt
devote the remainder of the day tt
the road tax bill.
Senate Passes Seven Bills.
The Senate also had a light
calendar, passing seven bills and
killing one. Among those approved
was bill by Senator Andrew w
Clarke, Alexandria, Fairfax and
Prince William, to clear title to the
26-acre Kircherer tract in Alex
andria for purchase by the city.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee
on Public Institutions and Banking,
of which Senator Clarke is a men,
ber, killed the Lynch bill authorizing
loans from the school literary fund
up to 100 per cent of the cost of
projects, instead Of IS per cent. The
measure had been requested by the
Fairfax County School Board and
supervisors.
The Senate Committee on County
City and Towns killed the Williams
bill prohibiting the annexation OF
more than 10 per cent of a county S
real estate value within a 10-year
period. This action brings to an end
all anti-annexation legislation OF
the current session.
: The same committee reported the
Damn -Magruder companion bills
to establish an Arlington police and
firemen's retirement and death
benefit system, and the Damn
Magruder- -Washington-Lynch bill
+ requiring $1,000 and $4,000 bonds for
real estate statesmen and brokers,
respectively.
Opposed by Nearby Areas.
Repeal Of the gross receipts tax
against Virginia and out-of State
common and contract truckers, as
well as proposed increase in the
gasoline tax from cents to cents
per gallon, were the two features
of the road tax legislation most
strongly criticized by the delegation
from areas sseloseto Washington.
The gross receipts levy was extended
to the carriers in 1912, after study
by a special commission headed by
former Delegate Charles r. Fenwick,
Arlington. The gasoline tax in
crease met opposition because it
would raise still further the price
differential between the District and
Virginia.
Other features of the bill include
q reduction of private vehicle license
tags by 20 per cent, effective in 1947,
and an increase by so per cent and
$50 per cent in the license fees for
common and contract freight car
riers, which would escape the gross
receipts levy. The measure leaves
unchanged the existing tax structure
with respect to buses.
Amendments passed yesterday in
clude one earmarking all extra rev.
enue gained by the tax program,
estimated to yield $3,500,000 an
nually, for secondary roads along
with $12,500,000 already set up in
the budget bill, and another by
Delegate j. J. Williams, Henrico, de-
signed to protect his county, Airing
ton and Warwick Counties, in the
distribution of the additional Sec
ondary road funds. These three
counties were inadvertently left out
of the bill since they operate under
a special plan by remaining outside
the Byrd Act" of 1882.
Aviation Tax Reported.
: Other highly controversial gas
oline tax measures were reported
favorably by the House Finance
Committee yesterday. They are bills
to apply six cents per gallon tax
on all aviation fuel sold in this
State and to apply an equal rate
on a use tax" against all fuel con-
sumed in flights over the State, re-
gardless Of whether Virginia land
ing fields are utilized or whether
the fuel was actually purchased
here.
Delegate j. Maynard Magruder
Arlington, appeared at the commit
tee hearing on this legislation and
cited the recent boundary bill signed
by the Governor which ratifies an
act of Congress placing the WASH
ington National Airport within Vir-
ginia but specifically exempting
from taxation aviation fuel sold
there.
The pending bill would not i'm
pose direct taxation on fuel sold at
the airport but would collect the
levy In flights over Virginia, whether
the fuel was purchased in Balti-
moe, Philadelphia or any other
jurisdiction.
I'VE have recently ratified an
agreIment with the Federal Gov
nnent," Mr.. Magruder said, "and
in my opinion it would be a viola
tion of trust If we now attempt to
do by indirection what we agreed
not to do"
e. Smythe Gambrell, general
counsel for Eastern Air Lines, de-
clared the proposed levy Is uncon-
stitutional and said the Assembly
might as well attempt a tax against
ducks in migratory flights from
Canada to the Gulf Of Mexico.
Proponents of the plan say the
tax is necessary to finance local
projects So localities nav ~o+ch