Connecticut western news., 1917-06-07
ADVERTISING TAX
 ON NEWSPAPERS
Senate Committee Agrees to
 Recommend Plan.
POSTAL RATES UhAL TERED

Senator Oliver, Owner of Paper In Pittsburgh, Only Publisher to Advo- cate Increase In Second Class Mail
 Rates Instead of Impost on Adver- tising-BeIief House Will Finally Ap- prove Change In Its Bill.
 Although the senate finance commit tee has voted to agree on a ? per cent tax on all advertising in newspapers in place of the increase in second class matter postal rates us adopted by the house ways and means committee in the War revenue bill. there is still a possibility that the postal increase may yet be placed on the shoulders of the publishers. There is said to be disposition in the senate ill favor of the mail rate jump and also to tax 2d. vertising.
 Senator Oliver of Pennsylvania. own CT of newspaper in Pittsburgh. ap- pearcd before the committee i'll oppo- sition to the advertising tax. He said he preferred the postal increase. Thus far he is the only publisher who has taken this attitude before the commit tee
 The publishers who have conferred with Senators Simmons of North Caro- lima and Penrose of Philadelphia are not optimistic over the prospects. TEey fear the newspaper business is to bc heavily burdened in the congressional scheme of taxation.
 According to Senator Simmons. he and Senator Pcnrose will make no di. rect recommendation.
 We are pot empowered to do that, said he. '"rhe fixing of the tax either on second class postal matter or on fat advertising lies entirely. with the com mittee as a whole. We will merely tell them what the publishers saiC&
 Calls Tax Inevitable.
 Tt seems to be the psychological time though for the publishers to accept change that is. almost inevitable. Print paper is at high rate now. Per kaps when it is lower the. change in the tax might be made more.
 "There has been a raise in the rates
 
 on letters. postcards and parcels post back up the committees report if the bill was sent out without some change in the second class matter"
 Two proposals are before the senate finance committee, now considering tht war revenue bill. One increases sec ond class rates. The other taxes ad vertising receipts Senator Simmons also has plan to increase second class rates to 1% or 11a cents per pound anu to tax advertising receipts 11a per cent
 Newspapers and magazine publishers now in Washington vigorously oppose any increase in the second class rates They say that If there is raise in the rates at this time. when the cost of materials is so high. many newspapers will be actually driven out of business and many others will suffer materially Hopewell Rogers. president of the !. American Newspaper Publishers asso- ciation, says either the tax on advertis ing receipts or the raise ill postal rates will annihilate some publications.
 Predicts Disaster to Many.
 You cannot deal with all alike" said he, for there are relative degrees oi success in all lines of business. The taxes may affect newspapers different ly. Eventually only those which can pay their expenses will survive"
 Ebert H. Baker, chairman of the American Newspaper Publishers asso ciation, and John Sleicher as well as J. B. Baldwin, the latter two represent ing weekly publications, say the tax oil advertising receipts is the fairer of the two plans.
 The scheme of Senator Hardwick of Georgia to continue rates on the read ing matter in publications the same as 1 'at present, but to heavily increase the rates on advertising matter finds nc favor with any publisher. This would work more hardship than anything yet suggested, they say.