Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-05
Rise in Other
Levies Seen if
Sales Tax Fails
Arlington Bourd
Member Points Out
Need to Legislators
By Alex R. Preston

BY Alex K. Preston
Stor Siaff Correspondent

-
county imposes a retail sales tax
was being studied by two legisla-
tive committees today.
Alvin Kimel of the Arlington
County Board. speaking in behalf
of an Arlington sales tax bill at
a public hearing yesterday, said
I'VE want an opportunity to
give the people a vote on this
We have no alternative but to
increase the real estate and per-
sonal property tax"
The two committees also were
confronted with a major policy
decision over whether the sales
tax plan should be permitted to
creep over the State, county-by-
county, in piecemeal fashion.
A decision on the fate of the
bill may be forthcoming on Tues
day. at the next meeting of the
House Committee on. Counties,
clues ana Towns.
Meanwhile Delegate Sam Pope
of Southampton dropped in a
general Statewide sales tax
measure today. The bill would
impose a 2 per cent levy on re-
tail sales.
Mr.. Pope has made similar
attempt at the last thIRe sessions
of the General Assembly, with
out success.
Not Opposed at Hearing.
Public hearings on the Airing
ton legislation and a similar bill
for Washington County, in
Southwest Virginia, were held
by joint committees of both
branches of the Legislature. AL
though publicized in advance.
no opponents showed up.
A resolution from the Airing
ton Civic Federation opposing a
sales tax was read.
Chairman j. Maynard Magru-
der of the House committee, who
presided. is a co-patron of the
Arlington bill. He said it would
come up at the next meeting Of
his group.
Mr.. Kimel said the County
Board asked the legislative dele
CATION to authorize a sales tax,
which the board would impose
"only as a last resort-and only
if Alexandria. Fairfax and Falls
Church would go along with US
1T has to be a Northern Vir-
ginia proposition, he declared
The hearing brought out a
striking similarity of problems
among two strikingly different
counties. Both involve school
financing.
Spokesman for the strictly
rural Washington County said a
bill by Senator George Warren
of Bristol would yield between
S350.000 and 100000 a year.
needed by the county to build
schools.
So Million Revenue Seen.
Mr.. Kimel estimated So mil
lion to SIS million a year would
be the yield in his highly urban
lied county. This is needed to
pay of the bonded debt for
schools the county already has
built and for a few more, he said.
It was Senator A. S. Harrison
of Lawrenceville who raised the
policy question by inquiring
whether a sales tax should be
adopted "piecemeal."
Senator Charles r. Fenwick
replied: II can't see why only the
cities in Virginia should have the
monopoly on the right to impose
a sales tax. The Virginia Advis-
DRY Legislative Council made a
study Of the situation and has
recommended that the counties
be given more Of the powers that
only cities now have.
In some counties, such as
Arlington, the problems are the
same as they are in cities The
difference between our situations
here today is that in Arlington
we went ahead and voted for our
bonds and built our schools. In
Washington County, they want
to issue the bonds for schools.
But it is the desire of both
to have some means open to pay
for them"
Delegation Opposed.
Mr.. Fenwick made it clear
that the Arlington delegation is
opposed to a sales tax. He en-
phasized that the legislation was
introduced at the request of the
local governing body of his
county-the group that has to
face the problem of financing.
Legislation sponsored by Mr..
Fenwick along with Delegates j.
Maynard Magruder and Kathryn
Stone would set up means for
voters to sign a petition to the
Circuit Court to call for a refer
endum. Then, if the voters an
prove, the levy still would not
be imposed automatically. The
County Board would have the
authority to impose such.a tax
OF not more than 2 per cent.
I'VE felt" Mr.. Fenwick said,
"that we were not in q position
to say to the people that you
cannot vote on this question
when the County Board has re-
queSted it,"