The age-herald., 1902-01-31
Ways and Means Committee Has Bill Ready for House
LARGE SURPLUS IN TREASURY
Only Tax Reduced Is That On Mixed Flour-Beer Reduced $1 Per Bar rel, While Tax on Tea Is
 Entirely Repealed.

Washington, January 30.-The House committee on ways and means has unan- imously authorized Chairman Payne to report bill repeating all the Spanish war revenue taxes except the tax on mixed flour.
 The repeal Is to take effect July l, 1902, except the duty on tea, which IS to take effect January 1, 1903. Chairman Payne made a statement showing that the total reduction would be ST, 900 an- nually. The delay in the repeal of the tax on tea is for the purpose of enabling those who have stocks on hand to dispose of them before the repeal takes effect.
 Special Taxes Affected.
 The repeal will affect the remaining special taxes imposed by the war. viz:
 On bankers, brokers, grain dealers, pawn brokers. custom house brokers, theatres, museums, circuses, etc., bill lard rooms and bowling alleys, playing cards, dealers in and manufacturers or tobacco The reduction of fermented liouor will amount to SO cents per bar rel; that on tobacco and snuff will be cents bringing the rate back to cents per pound as before the war.
 The rate on cigars and cigarettes was changed last year, but the further change now made will bring the rates hack to those existing prior to the war The repeal under schedule A of the law will include the tax on bonds, deben- tures etc, certificates of stocks, sales or agreements, stock transactions, inland and foreign bills of exchange, bills or lading, indemnifying bonds, certificates of profit, brokers contracts, custom house entries, warehouse entries and steamboat passage tickets.
 Ehe repeal. under schedule will in- clude the tax of 1 cent per pint bottle and cents on bottles over a pint. Inc legacy taxes also come off.
 Other reductions include the excise taxes on persons and firms engaged in refining petroleum and sugar, special tax of banks and bankers, stamp tax on parlor and sleeping car berths, etc.
 The rate on beer, now $1.6O per barrel, will be brought down to S The present tea duty Is 10 cents per pound, and this will be repealed.
 Payne Makes statement.
 Chairman Payne made the following statement on the proposed repeal:
 ''The treasury has now an available cash balance of som ething over $174,Ooo.- 900. It is not likely that this will be in creased materially during the present fiscal wear as the treasury is buying bonds at a rate that will use up the sur plus to accumulate between this and the end of the fiscal year June next The secretary of the treasury's report es- timated surplus for this year of SlOO- 100000 and subsequent results seem to confirm this estimate. The committee therefore thought it was entirely safe to repeal the remainder of the war revenue taxes amounting to sixty-eight million dollars and the tax on tea of nine mill lion dollars in the aggregate s77,oOO 900 at this time. This will still leave sur plus estimated upon this years receipts an expense of twenty-two or three mill lions for the year. while we will start upon the next fiscal year with $174,00O,- 900 available cash in the treasury.
 Tea Tax Reduced January 1.
 ''The committee deems it wise to have the repeal of the tax on tea to take ef- feet on the first of January in order to enable those especial retailers and small dealers who have small stocks of the duty paid goods on hand, to dispose of them before the repeal take effect. We can provide rebate on the tobacco tax and guard against any fraud upon the revenue for the reason that the internal revenue department has this trade under close surveillance and can and will take no account off the stock in the dealers hands on the first day of July next. but this will be impossible as to teas which come in as customs duties and of which the government has no account, save as they are imported in large quantities by the importers. Continuing this tea tax to the first of January will give us six months revenue in the next fiscal year upon tea and will make the ultimate re- duction for the next year considerably less than s75, GOO. The bill will be pre- sented to the house as soon as 1t can be prepared