The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-10
AMENDMENTS TO WAR TAX
RECOMMENDED BYINTERN.4L REV
 ENUE COMMISSIONER SCOTT.

 mercial BroIkers'-The Tax on the Latter Recommended to be Repealed Bank Checks and Amateur Per form ances-stamp Tax on Mortgages Should be Removed-Telegraph Messages Drugs.
 Washington, Dec. 9.-Internal Rev. an important report in which the fol- lowing amendments to the war revenue tax are recommended:
 In paragraph l. section II, relative to bankers, insert in the proper place the following: Undivided profits shall be considered as surplus in estimating the tax due from banks, the amount to be estimated by taking the average for the preceding year. provided that the word capital shall not be understood to mean money borrowed or received from time to time as deposits in the usual course of business from any person not partner of, nor interested in the bank, association or firm'
 Paragraph four section ?. relative to Commercial brokers" The supreme court held in the case of Lack vs Tuck CT, 23 Wall, 321, that persons who re- ceive into their possession any goods or merchandise and sell them on commits sion cannot be regarded as commercial brokers. This relieves any persons who would otherwise be liable There is no tax imposed on commission merchants, auctioneers or estate agents or brokers There seems no special reason for sing ling out commercial brokers and re- quiring special tax from them, espec- 1ally as these taxes falls, in the main, on poorer class of people. I recom- mend therefore that the tax on com- mercial brokers be repealed.
 Paragraph 8, section Il, lectures, where illustrated by stereopticon should be ex- empt from payment of special tax as should also local clubs or amateur per- formers, charging a price of admission to their entertainments only for the purpose of meeting their expenses and not for pecuniary profit
 Add to the paragraph in schedule A, relative to bank checks the following: Provided that papers in the nature of receipts or otherwise, used as bank cheeks or orders for the payment of money shall be taxable as checks ex- cept in the case of withdrawal of funds from savings banks by a depostor on presentation of his bank book" or also impose a tax on all receipts.
 Providing that any instrument pur porting on it's face to be a statement of weights or rates of merchandise when passed as check or order for the pay ment of the money shall be held liable to stamp tax, the same as check
 Under the head of express and freight" in schedule A add the follow ing: And provided also that no stamped receipts or stamps shall be re- quired for any bale, bundle, box, article or package transported for the United States government nor for such bales, bundles or packages as are transported by such companies or persons which charge thereon"
 Also amend the paragraph by provid- Ing distinctly who shall afix and pay for the stamp required on receipts or bills of lading. The stamp tax on mort gages or pledges, schedule A, should, in my opinion, be removed As there is a tax on promissory notes, the tax on mortgages is double taxation and falls on the debtor If thought best not to repeal this act, I suggest, in order to relieve parties from double taxation, provision of this kind No stamp duty shall be required on any power of at torney, accompanying a bond or note or pledge, or certificate of stock, when such bond or note or pledge or certif- cate of stock shall have affixed there to the stamp or stamps denoting the duty required and whenever any bond or note shall be secured by mortgage but one stamp duty shall be required to be placed on such papers; provided, that the stamp duty placed thereon is the highest rate required for such in- struments, or either of them.'
 Insert in the proper place provision that no stamp shall be required on deeds of release. Strike out under the head of contracts, the provision taxing brokers notes of memorandum of sale of goods or merchandise, stocks, bonds, exchange notes on hand, real estate or property of any kind issued by brokers or persons acting as such, ten cents If brokers pay the special tax required, that should be deemed sufficient. The provision for taxing sales of stock, pro- ducts and merchandise in the first and second paragraphs of Schedule A are amended so as to remove doubts and antiquities.
 Amend the paragraph imposing one cent on telegraphic dispatches so as to make 1t definite and certain as to who Is to affix and pay for the stamp, the telegraph company or the person who sends the dispatch.
 Amend section 2, as follows: Begin ming with Provide" strike out all the rest of the section and substitute the following: "The taxes provided for in schedule B of this act shall apply to all natent, trademark or proprietary medl- cinal articles and to all medicinal arti- cles which are put up in style or man. nor similar to that of patent, trade mark. or prietary medicines in general or which are advertised on the pack aqe or otherwise as remedies or speci- fics for any ailment. or as having any snecial claim to merit, or to any par ticular advantage in mode of prepara- fion. quality use or effect.
 Provided that no stamp shall be inn nosed upon any medicinal drug or mix ture of drugs sold to or for the use c a,, ,,ercon when prepared for said