The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-03-15
Special Taxation for Raising
Revenue
is STILL IN THE AIR
Inheritance Tax viii Be Included-Bui
No Agreement as to Details Has
Been Reached-war Stamps
in Balance.

Washington, March l5.-As the tariff
bill stood Saturday night, coffee remains
on the free list. When the Republi
can members of the ways and means
committee ceased their labors temporar'
lily at 8 o'clock, adjourning until Mon
day morning, the provision relating tc
special taxation had not been decided
upon.
The proposed tax on coffee was for a
time accepted by the committee as the
best means for providing revenue by
which to prevent the continuation of a
large deficit in the treasury. The Payne
bill will not be ready for introduction
on Monday, according to member OF
the committee.
While an inheritance tax provision un-
doubleday viii be included in the bill,
the members of the subcommittee have
been unable to agree regarding this or
the proposition to impose stamp tax
on checks, bonds and stocks, similar to
the war revenue tax Of 1898. The entire
matter of providin some means for in
creasing the revenue of the government,
aside from the general duties on import
ed articles, is still an open question and
Is being thoroughly threshed out by the
subcommittee.
Speculation in Coffee.
The treasury officials view with great
disfavor the proposition to levy tax
on coffee brought into the United States.
II is pointed out that several million
bags Of high grade Brazilian coffee is
now held in this country and in some
Of the European centers as security for
loans made to one Of the Brazilian states,
and that should duty be imposed the
coffee stode Ia Europe could be readily
shipped into the United States before
the new tariff bill would become opera
tive. This vast quantity of coffee, esti-
mated to exceed 100000 bags, is said
to equal the entire expectation Of Bra
lillian coffee into the United States for
a wohle year. This, il is stated, instead
OF being a revenue producer, the income
from the first years importation Of cof-
fee is likely to be very insignificant
sum.
In the brief which they submitted to
the ways and means committee, the Ma
tional Coffee and Tea association de-
clared that the proposed tax on coffee
or tea would fail to produce any material
revenue to the government for nearly
two years to come and would increase
the cost of these beverages to every
family, who use either from 1890 to s25
per year. They stated that the present
visible supply OF coffee in the world
amounts to about 100000 bags, OF
which 100000 bags are stored here or
are afloat in this country.
Profit of s21,ooo,ooo.
According to the figures which they
submitted. duty Of four cents pound
on coffee would mean an immediate prof
it OF at least $500 upon every bag in
the United States, or profit of nearly
$2l 100000 to the owners and holders
of this coffee, without producing any rev.
enue to the country,
Enough would surely come here to
supply LHN utAnHHuS LOT NJ leathN TWO
years" they commended, "as it could easily
be shipped into the country. before the
duty became law, thus giving to the |
foreign and speculative owners a profit |
Of from S25,000,000 to s50,000,000 more,
but not one dollar Of this amount would
reach the United States treasury"
As an average of one billion pounds |
Of coffee imported annually, the tariff |
trainers figured that duty Of cents
/ pounds would bring revenue to the
government Of nearly S3s,000,o00 annu-
ally The importations that would be
free of duty, from Porto Rico and Ha-
vail, which now amount to 100000 I
pounds, probably would increase with the
protection afforded by this duty The
which now practically ex-
port no coffee, it is contended. would send