The record-union., 1898-05-13

/ transportation of persons, freights or
mails from port within the United
States through foreign territory to
a port within the United States, and
| shall be assessed upon and collected
from persons, firms, companies or cor
] porations within the United States re-
| ceiving hire or pay for such transpor-
tation of persons, freight or mails
A like tax of onefourth of l per
cent. of the gross receipts is imposed
on any person, firm, company or cor
poration carrying on or doing an ex-
press business; also on any person,
| etc, owning or possessing or having
the care or management of any tele-
graphic or telephone line; also on life,
| fire, marine or accident insurance, COM
| panies for the security and assurance of
| employers against losses by employees,
all of which are to pay on the basis
of premiums and assessments collected
| and the duties accruing, like taxes to
be paid by foreign companies doing
| business in the United States, also on
persons, ETC., furnishing gas or cleo
tric light, electric power, steam heat,
| steamboat, steam power, refining sugar
| or petroleum.
Then follows the provision for a tax
on corporations, giving the exemptions,
| which are as follows:
That every corporation doing busi-
ness in the United States, whether
! chartered under the laws of the United
States or of any State or Territory of
| the United States, or of any foreign
country, shall pay a special annual
excise tax, and said tax shall be equiv
alent to one-fourth Of / per centum Of
the whole amount of the gross receipts
of such corporations derived from such
business; provided, that this section
shall not apply to any corporate that
| is subjected to excise tax under Section
- OF this Act, nor religious, educa-
! tlonal benevolent, elemoSynary or cem-
/ etery corporations, municipal or other
puDl1c corporations, fraternal benefici-
| afy societies or orders or associations
| operating upon, the lodge system, and
providing for the payment of life, sick
accident and other benefits to members
OF otner societies, associations or de-
! pendents OF such associations, or build
| ing and loan associations which make
| loans to their shareholders; nor shall
| corporations which shall buy or sell
| raw or manufactured agricultural prod
| ucts be required to pay tax with re-
spect to such dealings except as other
| wise provided in this Act"
| Another paragraph in this portion of
| the bill imposes an excise tax on banks
and is as follows:
Every person, bank association,
company or corporation engaged in the
business of banking shall pay a spe-
clal tax, which shall be equal to one
fourth of l per centum each month
upon the average deposits of money
subject to payment by check or draft,
represented by certificate of deposit or
otherwise, whether payable on demand
or at some future day.
Persons affected by these provisions
are required to make monthly returns
Evasions of payment for ten days are
punished by the addition of 10 per cent.
and for attempts at knowing evasion
penalty of $1,000 is provided
IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS.
Taking up the bill at the beginning
more important amendments are as fol-
lows:
stored beer, ale, etc, are exempted
from the operations of this Act. The
discount on the beer tax is decreased
from to 20 per cent. For the House
provision for stamps on beer, etc.. a
simpler one is subtituted.
A license is imposed on bankers, etc,
as follows: On bankers employing a
capital of 5000 or less, 500 for each
license and 50 for each additional SfO,-
QUO of capital, savings banks being ex-
empted; brokers, $50; pawnbrokers.
$40; commercial brokers, $50; custom
house brokers, SO; foreign Insurance
agents, 500; proprietors of thaaters, mu-
seums, concert halls, circuses, 800
each; other public exhibitions, $40;
bowling alleys and billiard rooms. S5
per table
There are a great many changes in
the tobacco schedule. The tax on man
ufactured tobacco, snuff, etec. is in
creased from II to 16 cents per pound:
the tax on cigars weighing more than
| three pounds per Thousand is reduced
from 81 to SD 80 per thousand: on small
cigars, from So to 81; on cigarettes.
from 81 to 81 80 per thousand.
The House provision taxing tobacco
on hand is stricken out There is a re-
duction of the tax of tobacco dealers.
manufacturers, ETC., whose annual sales
fall below 5000 to So from the House
rate, which was $40, and tobacco ped
dlers are exempted from the operations
of this Act. There are similar reduc-
tions on the licenses of cigar manufac-
turers.
The penalty for a violation of Section
4, relating to adhesive stamps, is in
creased so as to make the offense
misdemeanor punishable by q line of
$500. or Imprisonment fo~ 4 year or
both. Imprisonment is also added as
one of the penalties for issuing or ac-
cepting unstamped documents. Indeed,
this addition is made to almost all the
provisions for violating any portion of
the bill.
The provision in Section II, relating
to telegraphic messages, which in the
House bill exempted free press mes
sages is amended so as to include these
| by making the provision apply to all
messages.
| medicines is so amended as to provide
for a tax on prescriptions.
The changes in Schedule A, relating
to stamp taxes, indicate that the COM
mittee devoted very careful attention
to it, and as a consequence, almost
every line is changed. After the first
paragraph of this schedule, the follow
ing Ia inserted as a proviso:
That in case Of sale, where the evil
dence of transfer is shown only by the
books of the company, the stamp shall
be placed upon such books, and where
the change Of ownership is by transfer
certificate, the stamp shall be placed
upon the certificate; and in cases where