Evening star., 1898-05-24
CORPORATION TAXES
Provisions Of the Revenue Bill Being
Considered.
STRIKES AND MISERY PREDICTED
Senator Frye Says That Mills VIII
Be Closed.
MR.. PLATT FOR BOND ISSUE

After the transaction Of some routine
| business in the Senate today the war rev.
! enue measure was laid before the Senate.
BY agreement paragraphs relating to corpo-
| ration taxes were under consideration. the
pending question being the amendment of
| Mr.. McEnery La) exempting from the
| corporation tax of Limited liability COM
| mercial partnerships or corporations and
| companies or corporations OF limited liabil-
| ity conducting planting or farming business
| or preparing for market products of the
| soi''
Mr. Allen sCNeb) thought if the amend
| ment included the big sugar corporations it
| ought not to be adopted
| Mr. Daniel Va) expressed his opposition
to the amendment, saying that he thought
| the genuine farming and planting interests
| were sufficiently protected in the pending
| bill
Mr.. Frye CMe) declared that the proposed
tax on corporations was a good scheme to
| encourage enlistment in the United states
army Il fully and firmly believe" said he
| .tnat II this feature of the bill be enacted
work" " ~ Jul vi
Mr.. Frye maintained that the burden of
| the tax would fall upon the men and WON
en- VINO work in the mills for II was ner-
| iectly evident that in the event the tax is
| sAaN iHiiio iiuSt eltner close entirely
or reduce wages. In either event strikes
terS. ''i ioi eeis-
Mr.. Frye objected. too, to the tax on hank
| 9epos:ts because of the burden placed unon
deposits IN savings banks He did not no
| neye' ne said. that senators from the sout,
nsiu any proper conception of the sayings
sA Vas ra.s,,'. as l.. was known In New England 1t
| "d9 really phlianthropic institution
he lnstanced the Androscoerin savings
| IAN IAN IN ms nome city. The salaries of the
oanh oHcers were less than 5000 a year
| ara the institution was boon to tho u.oru
Ing people of the town. In conclus;on ho
again lnstanced the direct conseouences
| .hat would follow the levying of the cor
poration tax. ~ WI
Mr.. Platt Comm, q member of ibe
| nnance committee. declared that the cor
poraton tax was unnecessary and he he
neFed 1t unconstitutional The bill he
| ei': eenoush., would raise undoubtedly suf-
| Heaent amount without the corpora tiop tar
| IL was an excess of caution he Thought
tnat mad prompted the chairman of the
| ways and means committee of the house
~, ~ underestimate the amount which the
Oil PROBABLY would raise. A fair estimate
OF the amount of revenue that would be
raised by the bill as it came from the House
was ne thought. $115,OOOOO0.
Favors the Bond Provision.
That with proper issue of bonds would
| supply ample funds for the conduct of the
war. Mr.. Platt thought the bond feature
proposed by the minority of the finance
committee was eminently fair. 1t was per-
fectly proper that the burdens of the war
should be distributed over a period of years.
Ihe burdens were thus made easier TO
carry. The tax on CORPORATIONS was nm
just Tor many reasons and he was salts
fled 1t was Illegal and unconstitutional 1t
was notably unjust because 1t Disseminated
| between persons in the same lines of busi-
| ress. He realized, he said, the sentiment
OF the present day against corporations and
| the desire on the part of many to get at
| them through taxation. The pending feat
| Ire OF the bill was special excise tax on
corporations. purely as such, and it is the
| first time 1T has ever been tried in this
country.
Mr.. Platt continued at length to argue
against the corporation tax. making a
special argument to demonstrate its I'M
conStit utionality.
In conclusion. Mr.. Platt said that the bill
raised enough revenue without the CORPORA
| ton tax; that that tax placed was unjust
and unequal in it's burdens upon business;
that the measure realizes more revenue
| than the people can afford to pay in one
year, and that it surely would make the
government the defendant in a series of
| lawsuits.
| Mr.. Lindsay (Ky). in the course of an
extended legal argument upon the corpora
ton tax feature of the bill. said 1T was i'm
possible for the government to levy taxes
| OF this kind except on consumption and on
| industry. No man pretended to insist that
L
II taxation were necessary, but the ques-
| ton here presented was whether the tag
proposed to be levied was fair and equita-
BILE.
He maintained that 1t was the part of
wisdom on the part Of Congress to enact
only such legislation as would be beyond
| controversy in the courts. In this time of
great emergency in the country's history
Congress ought to give to the government
dollars and not lawsuits with which to
conduct the war.
Mr.. Lindsay held that IL the corporation
tax provision of the pending bill had be-
come a law 1t would seriously cripple the
state of Kentucky well as other states
of the country. 1t would be an unnecessary
and officous interference with state taxa
tior by the federal government.
In course OF discussion of the question
of issuing bonds and legal tender notes,
Mr.. Lindsay noted the fact that when the
proposition to issue greenbacks during the
civil war was made to Congress by Secre-
tary Chase, every democrat in the House
had voted against it, as well as almost
every democrat in the Senate.
He intimated that 1t was strange there
should have been SO great a change in ;he
opinions of the democrats in the House
and the Senate in view of the fact that
democrats now urging the issue OF legal
tender notes.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
Mr.. King Utah) called up today in the |
House the Senate bill authorizing the ap-
80 IN ole 70