Williston graphic., 1917-08-30
By CONGRESSMAN P. d. Norton


Washington, D. Ex-senator Sim
mons, Chairman of the Senate FL
nance Committee and Representative
Kitchin of the House Committee on
Ways and Means, are in wide dis
agreement in their views on the New
Revenue Bill. Senator Simmons con-
tends that the bill in the form in
which it was amended by the Finance
Committee and reported to the Sen
ate places larger percentage of the
revenue to be raised on excess profits
and on large incomes than was done
by the provisions Of the bill as it
passed the House, while Representa-
tive Kitchin, the leader Of the Demo-
cratic majority in the House and who
by virtue of being Chairman of the
House Committee on Ways and Means
has control of the Revenue Bill in the
House, vigorously maintains that the
bill as amended by the Senate Fl
nance Committee, shifts hundreds of
millions of dollars of taxes from
large corporations and rich manu-
featuring concerns and places these
taxes upon the necessities of the COM
mon people. Representative Kitchin's
position seems to be we'll sustained
,Wllllll shrdl uatm fatm fatm fatm
when the bill as amended by the Sen
ate Finance Committee is closely ex-
amined
One important change made by the
Committee was in striking out the
amendment known as the Lenroot
amendment which increased the sur
tax on large incomes of from $4O,-
900 to 81 100000 and over. The strik-
ing out of this provision of the House
Bill relieves the possessors of these
large incomes from the payment of
annual taxes amounting to S70,000,-
900. The amendment to the present
income tax law made by the Senate
Finance Committee exempting all COR
porations from taxation on account
of dividends received from other cor
porations relieves a few of the larg-
est corporations in the nation from
the payment of $5O,OOO,O00 of taxes
a year. This one change alone in the
bill relieves the United States Steel
Corporation from the payment of
$tO,SO0,OOO annually. The addition.
al taxes proposed on the transfer Of
estates of decedants was removed
from the bill by the Senate Finance
Committee thereby relieving large in
heritances from paying taxes of about
000 nm ho fret md,
of $4O,O0O,O00 each year thereafter.
The Senate Finance Committee also
eliminated from the House bill taxes
amounting to more than $75,O0O,0O0
yearly on the manufacture and sale
of automobiles, tires, jewelry, chew
ing gum, motion picture films, eighty
seven per cent of which films are
manufactured by one corporation, and
on the taxes on club dues, and made
good the loss of this amount of rev.
enue by putting tax of $4O,O0O,O00
a year on owners Of automobiles and
100000 900 a year on the consumers
of sugar. The House bill tax of $780,
100000 on insurance companies and
bond indemnity companies was strick-
en- from the bill and the loss of this
revenue made up by tax of 2 cents
on every check over five dollars that
depositor draws to get his money
out of the bank in which he has
placed it.
While the bill as passed by the
House last May fell far short of
placing fair proportion of the bur-
den Of war taxation on those interests
and on those individuals most able to
bear the burden with the least incon-
venience and hardship the Senate
Finance Committee has signally fail
ed to remedy tn einequality but Oh
the other hand has immeasurably
added to it.
On the return of the bill to the
House it is hoped that amendments
will be adopted and adhered to by
the HOUSE which will remove the tax
es from many of the necessities of
every day life which are now provided
in the bill to be heavily taxed and
place heavier taxes on excess profits.
large incomes and large inheritances
to secure the needed revenues.
Quite number of elf-admitted
distinguished economists and states
men are now loud in contending that
the larger portion of the expense of
the present war should be paid from
the proceeds of the sale of Govern