Evening star., 1955-01-09
New Tax Sources
Now Being Sought
By District Officials
tcontinued From First Page.)

by District UHlcldlS
scontinued From First Page.)
tin. for example, wants to
tighten up the ioopholes In ex-
isting tax laws.
One Of these, he says. is in the
Unincorporated Business Fran
chise Tax. from which profess
sional people are exempt. This
includes legal and medical part
nerships.
Hits Exemptions.
And Mr.. Martin insists. the
Soldiers and Sailors Civil Re-
lief Act Is "aIl wrong" This ex-
empts members Of the armed
forces from income taxes, he
declares. and prohibits the Dis
trict from taxing post exchanges
and comnlissaries. One of the
things which hurts. he declares.
Is that Washington has greater
proportion OF military people in
its population than almost any
other city.
In addition, Mr.. Martin cites
foreign governments exernp-
tions from taxation. On the real
estate tax alone. he says. the
District loses up to 100000 a
year because of foreign govern
ments. Although he never ex-
poets to see taxes levied on for
eign embassies and missions. he
insists that the Federal govern
ment should reeompense the
District for them.
washington, he declares. "is
q city of great exemptions"
Searching for new tax sources.
Mr.. Martin says he is ready to
urge again the idea of a pay
roll tax. already adopted in st.
Louis and Philadelphia.
This Is a tax collected by efn-
ployers of ia to per cent on the
gross salaries of employees. It is
designed to get some financial
help for cities from the thou
sands Of persons who work there
but live In the suburbs.
81 Million Yield Seen.
II would yield. according TO
Mr.. Lowe. from 81 to SO million
q year for the District. If it could
be enacted in constitutional
form
The idea hasn't been pressed
seriously so far, because District
cfiiciais fear Congress would put
In so many exemptions to protect
their Office workers that the
courts would throw out the law
as discriminatory and uncorl-
stitutional.
Corporation Counsel Vernon s.
West, for example, has said 1t
might be all right to exempt
members Of Congress and Sem
ators themselves. the President
and members of the Cabinet.
How much farther the list might
constitutionally go, he says. he.
does not know. but not very far.
"What Else Can Be Taxed?"
Assessing the practical politics
Of the situation, District officials
say Congress might be persuaded
to 60 along with 3 mo exernp-
ton" payroll tax If the situation
is desperate enough.
And, they point out, the Dis
trict already has almost every
kind Of tax which the mind Of
man can conceive. What else can
be taxed, they ask. except son1e-i
thing that will hit the suburban
non-residents who live outside
the District? They point out that
more than half the population Of
metropolitan Washington now
lives outside the District Of CO.
lumbia.
Another source OF revenue
would be the real estate tax.
raised last year from $l.15 to
$l.20 for each 500 Of assessed
valuation.
Another 20 cent boost, it is esti-
mated, would cover all the pay
raises which might be enacted
at the present session Of Con-
greSS.
Taber Has Opposed.
Also, raising this tax might
help get from Congress the full
$40 million Federal payment to
the Districts annual budget.
Fun payment has been opposed
with regularity and success by
Representative Taber. Republic
can, of New York, on the
grounds that the rate Is not as
high as In his home town Of
Auburn. N. Y.
He has withheld his opposi-
ton only when he was chair
man OF the House Appropria-
tions Committee. during the
S0th. and ESD Congresses. Now.
in the Seth Congress. he loses
his craftsmanship under Demo-
cratic control and is back in
the minority-.the only position
from which he has sniped openly
and effectively at appropriation
Of the full Federal payment,
Assessor Martin says q 5 cent
boost In the real estate tax now
would yield about 81 million q
year. "A year or so ago, the yield
was only about 5000, 1000. 1t has
gone UP. Mr.. Martin says. be-
cause Of increased reassessment
work he has been able to do
with additional help granted
him BY Congress in the last two
years.
In addition. he declares. he
Is well on the way to redeeming
O promise he made In asking for
repeal of the Districts nom
business personal property tax,
which used to produce about
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