Evening star., 1954-09-19
.AssessmentsH Hit
District Peak
OF fS1.8Bi|Iion
SAB Million Increase
Nets Tax Return
OF $40.7 Millions
By John w. Stepp

The assessed value of Wash
ington real estate for the current
fiscal year, 1855, has risen $48
million to an all-time high of
1882. .323, ,905, The Star learned
last night.
Taxes based on this valuation
total $40.751 ,297, an increase of
$1.9 million over levies of fiscal
1854 which ended last June 80.
Estimates of actual collections
of real estate taxes during fiscal
1855 stand at 0,850, 900. This
would be SIS million higher than
fiscal 1854 revenues.
District Finance Officer James
L. Martin hazards an even longer
but less happy revenue projec-
ton into the future. He esti-
mates that collections in fiscal
1856 will be higher by only $780,
600 than those of the current
fiscal year.
The city will need every penny
of these sums, and much more,
to help meet ever increasing op-
irrational costs and an expanded
public works construction pro-
gram.
Factors in Realty Tax.
Chief factors in the latest real
estate figures are these:
l. The f1ve-cent increase in
the tax rate over the present
mandatory minimum of $2.15
per $l00 valuation of real prop
erty and improvements.
! 2. Addition of three real estate
tax assessors to the long under
stated Assessors Office. There
are now eight, with two more
authorized.
3. A steady and large volume
OF new construction that has
continued through the post
World War II years.
Mr.. Martin put greatest en-
phasiS on the f1ve-cent increase
in the tax rate. The boost was
Congress idea. The District
Commissioners refused to touch
that source-the biggest single
revenue producer by far that the
city has-when they drafted
their SIS million overall tax in
crease program to help finance
the works program since au-
thorized.
New Construction Gains.
On new construction alone
that were taxable as of last Jan
uary !, the assessed valuation is
$19.3 million. Other new build
lngs assessable as, of July / con-
tributed more than SIS million
to the total realty assessment,
Mr.. Martin reported.
Eyeing real estate tax revenue
prospects in the future, the f.
nance officer said that the next
big "shots in the arm" will be
the construction of large apart
ments on property at Temple
Heights, and the old gas works
property in Foggy Bottom and
the execution of the Districts
slum redevelopment program.
All of these property improve
ment projects, he pointed out,
will raise assessments tremen-
| dously.
The Districts revenues in gen.
eral were on the increase, largely
due either to tax increases en-
acted last May or to greater
consumption of goods and serv-
ices.
Personal Property Levy Drops.
The only major decline ap-
pears in the 1855 assessments
and taxes on tangible personal
property. This drop was ex-
pected, since Congress, at the
Districts urging, abolished the
personal property levy on house.
hold goods.
AT that, while financial experts
expected that the resulting tax
drop would be $850,000 below
fiscal 1854, the decline was ac-
tually only $629,728. Mr.. Mar
tin explained that this pleasure
surprise comes from the city's
auditing process that continually
is revising its assessments, usu-
ally upward, on personal prop
erty owned by businesses.
! In other assessment categor-
! les, gross earnings and gross
receipts taxes on public utilities.