on A. 48 MUNICIPAL FINANCE ADMINISTRATION (! c moo.) by cities in the states of New York, Virginia and Florida and is shown Separately on con- Sumer utility bills. In other instances the tax is imposed on the utility company or is used in determining amounts to be paid for franchise privileges granted the utility. This is an especially good local tax and is easy to collect, Special Charges Certain special services are held to yield a particular benefit to the user who is charged a sum to cover the cost of producing or providing the service. Asa result either the tax burden is lowered or tax funds are freed for other purposes. By the end of 1952 more than one out of four of the cities over 5,000 population had adopted sewer service charges and the number is constantly increasing. The mechanics of levying a sewer service charge are simple and the incidence of such a charge is preferable to an increase in the general property tax, first because such a charge reaches exempt properties which By the end of 1953 a total of 285 cities over 5,000 had adopted refuse collection charges. Such charges are ievied most widely in California and Texas. Monthly charges generally vary from 50 cents to $1 per single family residence. ° ’ ? public housing projects make supplying services to areas and sewerage service.° of-the-city service. Miscellaneous Taxes Among the miscellaneous taxes are local taxes on the sale or transfer of real prop~- erty. Baltimore, for example, has a recordation tax on all transfers of property or liens encumbered on property at the rate of 55 cents per $500 of value. Several Pennsylvania cities and townships tax real estate transfers at the rate of 1 per cent. Counties in Washington may impose a deed transfer tax with proceeds to be used for schools. Public Utility Overation Many cities secure substantial revenue from the operation of city-owned utilities. A small number of cities are entirely tax-free as a result of the profitable operation of local utilities, all of these cities being below 20,000 in population. Several larger cities derive more than one-fourth of their total revenue from contributions of their own utility enterprises, including Austin, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Jacksonville, Florida. As long asa city treats its consumers of utility services as well as they are treated in comparable situations elsewhere, many argue that the profits from municipally owned utilities may properly be applied to general government. It is true of course that utilities are in a preferred position as a result of their *