Evening star., 1960-06-21
Fiscal Web

Regrettable as it is, the refusal of
the House Appropriations Committee to
grant an already 81 million
Federal payment increase to finance
needed public works improvements in
the District was hardly a surprise. For
the reluctance of Congress to share with
District taxpayers the costs of improv-
ing the Nations Capital has been dem
onStrated many times.
This development, however, only has
! served to entangle the Districts fiscal
situation more deeply in a web already
so complex that it is not likely to be
unraveled until the final days of the
congressional session.
Contrary to its usual sentiments,
Congress this year has not even permit
| ted the District to raise its own taxes
sufficiently to meet the works needs.
Several months ago, the Commissioners
submitted for this purpose an $8.3 mil
lion tax package which has languished
ever since in the House District Com
mittee. Only when it became apparent
that this request was entrenched in the
graveyard did the Commissioners seek
the ST million Federal payment.
In refusing it, moreover, the Appro-
priationS Committee this week seemed
to be talking out of both sides of its
mouth. The committee, under a COM
pletely novel form of authorization, told
the Commissioners it was perfectly all
right to proceed with each of the prof.
ectS they proposed, if they could find
the money without incurring debt. Thus,
while committee members decried the
need for the projects, they at least i'm
piled their validity.
The effect of this, on the face Ct
1t, Is to invite the Commissioners to
raise the District real estate tax-the
only part of the $8.3 million tax pack
age which does not require legislation.
And indeed the Commissioners feel so
strongly the necessity for good part of
the works program-eSpecially for school
clasSrooms and for the big Potomac
River interceptor Sewer-that they prob
ably would invoke the proposed 20-cent
real estate tax increase Immediately if
no other factor was on the horizon.
But another factor is in the picture,
which ironically may well require the
entire $83 million local tax increase
without bringing the city a single bene-
fit in new public works improvements.
. This factor is the possibility that Con-
greSS may override the expected Presi-
Dental veto of the classified pay raise
bill and, in that event, the almost in
evitable likelihood of comparable pay
raises for teachers, firemen and police
If these raises go through, they prob
ably would total between SO and $8.5
million in cost next year-almost ex-
actly the amount of the tax increases
requested for public works.
Thus, the prospect is that District
citizens will face another tax boost this
year in one form or another-the only
questions are how much and for what.
These questions cannot be answered
until the fate Of the classified pay bill
is settled, and the Commissioners, of
course, should take no action on taxes
until then.
Meanwhile, one scant hope for a
more equitable solution remains-the
Senate. When the supplemental ap-
preparations bill clears the House and
reaches the Senate we trust that the
Commissioners will make a strong ef-
fort there for some restoration of the
Federal payment increase. Perhaps at
that especially if it appears that
pay raise legislation will eat up sub
Stantial local tax increases Sen
ate will remember the pledge which Con-
gresS made several years ago to share
the costs of improving the Nations
Capital.