214 MULTIPLE PURPOSE RIVER DEVELOPMENT 



necessary services. These revenues appear in one form as tax liabil- 

 ities of individuals and corporate bodies. In short, the tax liabilities 

 in Table 38 are viewed as arising out of a need for revenues to sup- 

 port generally desired governmental services. We assume that 

 neither more nor less of these essential services would be provided 

 were the reimbursable features of our multiple purpose project 

 undertaken by a body subject to federal taxation. The presence 

 or absence of federal tax liabilities under the alternative column 

 headings in Table 38 in no way implies any differences in the 

 amount of public services the federal government would provide. 



If we assume that present federal tax revenues are adequate to 

 provide a generally acceptable amount of services and that the 

 Willamette project is undertaken by a private enterprise unit sub- 

 ject to federal taxation, a tax reduction (of the nature suggested 

 in Model A and Model B of Chapter IV) could take place. In 

 contrast, let us assume that the level of public services generally 

 accepted as adequate could not be provided without increased 

 revenues equivalent to the federal tax liabilities for the private 

 undertaking. Under this assumption, a general increase in taxation 

 would be needed if the reimbursable features were undertaken by 

 either a federal agency or by a nonfederal public body enjoying 

 intergovernmental tax immunity. 



In the quantitative analysis of the distribution of costs, it is neces- 

 sary to have clearly in mind just what costs or income transfers 

 we are interested in. We are not concerned ultimately with learn- 

 ing who has supplied the investment funds for the development 

 of the reimbursable feature in any of the alternatives. In the sale 

 of corporate securities or local government revenue bonds the 

 purchasers of these evidences of wealth supply the funds used in the 

 development. The voluntary surrender of funds in exchange for 

 securities is accompanied by the prospect of an income stream in 

 the form of interest or dividends, or of capital gains. There is full 

 compensation for the sacrifice associated with surrendering liquid 

 wealth in exchange for securities, if the transaction is entered into 

 voluntarily in response to the anticipation of financial returns. In 

 these circumstances, there will be no unmet costs whose incidence 

 we are seeking to locate. 



This particular analysis also concerns only an aspect of funds 

 raised by federal taxation. Our interest here is neither ultimately 

 associated with the fact that funds are supplied nor uniquely 



