The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-06-19
TO TAX BIG. FIRMS
FINANCE COMMITTEE TALKS OF
PLAN ADVANCED By TAFT
in MESSAGE.
MAY LEVY ON NET EARNINGS

That Is Solution Of Problem of Get
ting Moro Revenue, Says Executive
'-other Plans Failures, He Do
cIares-lsIes Get Free Trade.
Washington. June IT, President
Taft's message on the subject of tax
ing net earnings Of corporations and
amending the constitution SO as to
empower congress TO levy tax upon
incomes was discussed at meeting
of the committee on finance to-day,
which considered both of these propo.
sitions. =. g..
Mr.. Taft recommended legislation
looking to the placing of a two per
cent. tax on the net income Of cor
porations and also the adoption Of an
amendment to the constitution provid.
ing for" the imposition of an income
/. tax without an apportionment among
the several. states He sent to- con-
gress a message embodying his views
on the subject. This action followed
a protracted special meeting Of the
cabinet
Points to Tax Failures.
In his message the president: spoke
Of the apparent inability Of congress
to agree to an inheritance. tax, and as
regards. an income tax. he refers to the
decision Of the supreme court in the
case of Pollock VS. The Farmers Loan
and Trust Company, In which the
court held the tax to be unconstitu.
tdonal Unless apportioned according to
population. ut u.s. says the presi.
government ought to have. It: might
be Indispensable to the nations life
In great crises"
The amendment. therefore. he de.
clares, was the only proper course Such
an amendment to the constitution. he
commended, was preferable to The one
proposed of .reviving a law judicially
declared to be unconstitutional.
..: y. "Tax on Privilege" ,..
The amendment which he proposes
should be made to the tariff bill pro-
v1des for the imposition upon all cor
porations and all Joint stock complain
les for profit, except national banks
otherwise taNed), savings banks and
building and loan associations of an
excise. tax. of two per cent. on the
net income Of said corporations. This.
It Is estimated by him. will bring an
annual revenue Of $25.000.000. "This
is a tax on privilege and not on prop
erty," he says. land is within the fed
eral power without apportionment &C.
cordinp tn noDulation"
The president points out that an.
other merit to the tax on corporations
is the federal supervision which will
give to the government. the stockhold.
ers and the public knowledge Of the
real business transactions and the
gains and profits of every corporation
In the country. The adoption of the
amendment. he says, will make q long
step forward toward, that supervisory
control Of corporations which may pre-.
vent d further abuse OF power"
Free Trade for Isles.
The Philippine free trade section of
the tariff bill. with amendments. was
adopted, by a. vote of ALTO 20 in the
senate. Six Republicans. Senators
Root, Borah. Bristow, Clapp Crawford
and La Toilette. voted with the Dem
ocrats against the finance committees
proposition.
BY vote of 26 to 43 the senate
rejected an amendment by Senator
Fletcher providing that imports from
the Philippines into the. United States
shall pay the same duties as imports
from others countries except az now
provided by law
Offering an amendment limiting the
operation of the proposed law for the
free admission of sugar from the Phil
ippine islands to two years. Senator
Gore declared that the. sugar. trust
would be the beneficiary OF free sugar
He said his amendment would permit
a practical test and would demon.
strate how the plan would operate
His amendment was rejected rs to 43.
Zinc Schedule Is Up.
Az soon as the Philippine amend.
nnent was disposed Of by the senate
the zinc schedule OF the tariff bin was
brought up by Mr.: Aldrich, who Of
fered committee amendment sub.
stituting graduated scale of rates on
zinc ore in place of the duty of one
cent pound as provided in the house
bill. The substitute admits zinc. bear
ing ores containing less than ten per
cent. Of zinc free Of duty. On zinc
ore containing from 10 per cent. to
20 per cent, the rate is quarter OF a
cent pound on the zinc contained
! therein; on zinc ore. containing from 20
per cent. to 25 per cent, one.half OF
q cent per pound on the. zinc, and on
ore containing more than Is per cent.
one cent per pound
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