Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-08-06
Huge Revenue Bill
Reported to Senate
Continued from Page One

Continued from rage one
the idea of extending them TO meet future
needs.
"The committee has at all stages acted
with a keen sense of its responsibility ana
of the extreme importance Of its action in
its effect upon the country and the success
full prosecution of the war; said the report
submitted by Chairman Simmons. 1T rec
ognized the fact that the amount repre-
sents the largest taxation budget in our his
tory, nor was it unmindful of the fact that
those who have to pay these eXactions will
also have to furnish the larger part of the
money to purchase the bonds to be issued
to meet such part of our expenditures as
are not provided for by taxation, and also
such sums as we may from time to time be
called upon to loan to foreign governments
engaged with us in war against Germany.
In these circumstances your committee
was profoundly impressed with the ex-
pedency and necessity of broadeningg and
developing our system of special taxation
so as to present a scientific scheme. logi-
caly constructed, so framed as to provide
a substructure sufficiently strong and
flexible to meet not only our present but
our future war needs, and so adjusted as
to distribute equitably the necessary
burdens of taxation and safeguard the ac-
tivities of the nation by imposing no tax
which would not leave the taxpayer a
reasonably compensatory return from his
investment The basis of the system pro-
posed by your committee is the income and
war profits taxes, internal revenue taxes
upon whisky and tobacco and certain
moderate subsidiary levies in the nature of
excise taxes.
1.-The system presented is in form much
the same as that in the House bill but il
has. it is believed, been systematized CO.
ordnated and made more consistent The
incomes and war profits taxes, the basic
part of the system, have been better ad-
justed to each other while the latter has
been broadened and raised to parity
with the former in the machinery of the
scheme and in its revenue-producing
qualities.
"As a result OF these changes II is esti-
mated that about two-thirds of the addi-
tional revenue, about one-half of the total
revenue from taxation for the year 1918,
will come from the income and war-profts
taxes 1t is also estimated that the redraft
of the var-profts provision of the bill will
! raise SS62, 100000 in excess of that antic-
pated from these sources under the House
| bill,
I'm fixing the rates upon incomes and
| war profits your committee kept constantly
| in mind the fact that the amount OF revenue
| derived from these sources would depend
| upon the prosperity and activity of business,
and that to impose taxes which would tend
| to discourage enterprise and dampen these
| activities would tend to defeat the legis-
| iatlVe purpose by reducing the revenue
expected from these basic courses More
| over 1t thought that If the rates upon
Incomes and profits were fixed at the high
| est level consistent with best revenue pro-
ducing results, there might be but little
| margin left for such further increases in
rates as it may be found expedient to inn
| pose to meet future demands for additional
| revenue"