Evening star., 1955-06-13
Charity Tax Bid
Opposed byCity
BY DON S. WARREN

Spokesman for church, char
Iity and religious groups today
appealed to a Senate subcom.
imittee for an extension of Dis.
Itrict tax exemption but rar
into an argument from District
Government officials as to thu
Icity's financial crisis.
Up for consideration was thu
House-passed bill. authored by
Representative Hyde. Republi.
can, of Maryland, which wouit
exempt bequests to charitable
educational and religious activi.
ties from the Districts inheri.
tance tax even though all of the
activities would not be confined
to the District.
Representative Hyde and othel
advocates explained that many
of the groups face loss of con.
siderable portions of bequests
because their work extends be.
Iyond the District boundary
Among the other witnesses were
William T. Hannah, speaking
for the Washington Heart Asso.
citation: the Rev. Robert Var
Deusen, Washington secretary
of the National Lutheran Coun.
Gil; B. G. Craighill, for the Pro-
Itestant Episcopal Cathedral
Foundation and the Episcopal
Diocese of Washington; William
IB. Jones, for the Catholic Arch
diocese of Washington, ano
Lloyd Fletcher, for the Method
list Home and the Eastern Stal
Home.
Facing Crisis
Henry E. Wixon, assistant
corporation counsel, submitted
| a statement from the Commits.
sioners opposing the extension
of the tax exemption and de.
claring that the District nov
faces a financial crisis under
which the need for additiona
revenues, in view of pending pay
raises for Government workers
could range as high as $12 mil.
lion a year.
The statement. signed b.
Commissioner Samuel Spencer
said, "The financial condition O;
the District is due, in no small
part to exemptions granted
under the various tax laws. That
condition will be aggravated by
additional exemptions.
1.-THE responsibility of the
Federal Government in bearing
part of the cost of operating the
District government should be
measured in part by local taz
exemptions"
Witnesses favoring the bill
said experience of the past three
years indicates the tax loss to
the District would be only about
$125,000. Mr.. Wixon contended,
however, that experience OF
earlier years indicates the in
heritance tax loss could be more
than 100000.
Commissioner Spencer, in his
letter, suggested that should
Congress enact the bill it should
be modified so that tax exemp-
ton would be permitted only for
those church, charity or educa-
tional purposes conducted "prin-
cipally and primarily" for the
benefit of residents Of the Dis
trict."
Weigh Request
The subcommittee, headed by
Senator Bible, Democrat, of Ne
vada, also considered a request
by the Jewish War Veterans for
exemption of District real estate
taxes for the property at 1712
New Hampshire avenue NV,
bought by the organization for
a national headquarters and a
national shrine.
Bernard Weitzer, legislative
director, argued that four other
war veterans organizations have
been given similar exemption.
For the District, Mr.. Wixon
said the war veterans case did
not come within the general tax
exemption principles and that
the exemption of the New Hamp-
shire avenue property would
mean a tax loss of 1888 a year.
The Bible subcommittee also
considered a bill sponsored by
the Commissioners to authorize
the city heads to Ak the compen-
sation of members of II licens-
ing and regulatory boards-now
given honorariums of widely diff
ferent amounts.