Evening star., 1949-05-15
Confusion Worse Confounded

Reading the Senate debate OF FRIDAY on
the District tax bill is to experience some
of the confusion and chaos Of horrible
nightmare The Star trusts that the rest
full peace of a quiet Sabbath day will
restore some Of our distinguished Senators
to q rational state of mind by tomorrow
Senator Johnston of South Carolina was
responsible for most Of the confusion. His
whole plan for substituting a higher and
tighter income tax for the proposed sales
tax ID misleading because his estimates are
wrong. At one time on Friday he told the
Senate 1t would produce 1899 900 addt-
tional revenue. At another time he said
1t would produce $1O0oO,000 additional
revenue At another time, that 1t would
Yield SO 100000 additional. At another,
"S15 900, 900, minus" Then there was his
estimate of $1199O,O00, which is an in
crease of 1890 900" over present revenue.
The estimate of the additional yield by
the experts is sc, 500, ,000-as compared with
about ST., 100000 anticipated from the sales
tax.
Senator Johnston was confused on other
things. He thought the real estate tax rate
was $185, when 1t is So. He told the
Senate that by increasing it to $2.25 the
additional yield would be 100000. Such
an increase would produce s5y000,000.
He told the Senate that If 1t passed his
income tax, his higher realty tax and his
higher LIQUOR taxes, q sales tax would be
unnecessary. His various proposals were
voted up or down in such fashion as to
leave the Senators uncertain about what
I tNr1tV
leader, Mr.. Lucas, was under the I'M
preston that the Senate had just voted
local taxes which raised $l1 100000 more
than the Senate started out to raise.
Senator Hunt corrected him by explaining
the District was still short 100000 OF
the needed revenue.
The Senate was told by Senator Johnston
that in approving the income tax, 1t still
had the sales tax That, OF course, was
mistake. The Senate had killed the sales
tax when 1t approved the income tax.
Whereupon Senator Johnston said that,
as he wanted to be perfectly frank, he
did not think enough revenue had been
raised to meet the Districts needs. Later
he said he thought those needs had been
met by the income tax.
The Star does not think tnat senator
Johnston at any time deliberately at
tempted to mislead the Senate. He is
very much confused man. His heart bleeds
for the "littIe man." threatened by the
sales tax Yet Senator Johnston has pro-
posed q program of local taxation, based
on highly erroneous estimates Of yield,
that would hit the "little man" worse than
the sales tax. 1t would not produce the
money to pay the teachers, the f1remen,
the policemen and the municipal employees
the salary increase which Senator Johnston
alone prevented them from getting last
year.
The situation as 1t stands now should
be clear enough.
If the Senate defeats the sales tax, the
District will obtain no new revenue this
year The same income tax voted by the
Senate Friday has been killed two
times by the House this year, four or five
times In other years. 1t would be killed
again. And the District would be left
again with a large deficit that will hit the
schools, the hospitals and the welfare
institutions hardest of all.
A talk bill cannot be written on the floor
Of the Senate. Unless 1t Is willing to
approve the bill brought in by the Senate
District Committee, the Senate should
send the whole business back to the COM
mittee. Fridays performance was dis