Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-09-19
COFFEE Is
EXEMPTED
FROM TAX
Complete Report From Wash
ington Shows This Article
Included in List on Which
Consumption Tax Was Voted
Down BY Senate

%OffEEs 10 HOT W pay q SOhoump
ton tax OF cents a pound, as
- first provided for in the war rev.
enue tax bill, as has been generally
believed here for the past 10 days,
that coffee taxation was included in
the war revenue bill.
When the news was cabled mere
by the Associated Press on Sept. 10
that the United States senate had
voted to retain the duty drawback
upon sugar and had eliminated the
consumption tax on sugar. cocoa, tea
and molasses, coffee was not includ.
ed in the despatch.
A few days later 1t was announced
that Delegate Kuhio had been advised
by Senator Hardy of Ohio that all ell
forts to get the proposed consumption
tax on Hawaiian coffee left out OF
the bill should be dropped. This added
TO the belief that coffee was TO pay
the consumption tax, while sugar, tea,
cocoa and molasses were exempted.
On last Sunday morning ]. NJ. Nc
Chesney, Honolulu coffee man, re
ceiyed a cable from Jack Desha, sec
retary to Delegate Kuhio in Washing
ton, which read as follows:
war revenue bill will have no cot.
lee tax next winter. Question comes
up in bin raise additional revenues.
This message was sent five days
after the senate had refused to i'm.
pose the consumption tax by vote
sof 81 to 81, and after the war revenue
biIl had passed. the senate. 1t is pre-
sumsd that in the interval, Secretary
Devha had determined no effort was
to be made in the house Of represen-
tatiyes to attempt TO place the con-
sumption tax on coffee, In opposition
to the views of the senate.
With the arrival Of the Wilhelmina
yesterday, correspondence from Wash
ington reported how the consumption
tax provisions were voted down by
any Overwhelming majority in the sen.
ate:
..In the last hours of the passage of
the bin the consumption taxes up
n coffee, tea, sugar and cocoa were
cut out OF the bill. So were the pos
tai increases on second class mail
matter, which would have affected
chiefly. newspapers and magazines.
The senate declared itself unwill
Ing to uphold the finance committee
in repeating the drawback upon su-
gar brought here. refined and then
exported. The drawback still stands
as q law. Last year it would have
paid $4,000, 900 to the government in
taxes which, without the drawback,
the sugar refiners would have to pay
as q tax.
AT the last moment Senator Bran
degee of Connecticut succeeded in
having operation of the big bill con-
fined to the duration Of the war.
THE bill now goes to conference
between the house and the senate,
where the differences viii be threshed
out. II is hoped that within fort
night all matters Of dispute will have
been adjusted and the president will
be able to affix his signature and con-
vert the proposed taxation into law.
"One Of the very first attacks made
on the bill was by Broussard of Lou.
isiana, who conducted an assault on
the consumption taxes. These would
have taxed coffee cents pound, tea
3 cents, sugar y cent and cocoa
cents, the revenue amounting to about
$s6.000.0O0.
The Louisiana senator first moved
to strike out the coffee tax, and this
was carried to vote of 81 TO %. He
followed this with further success by
having the tax on molasses killed by
vote of so to 2S. Senator Simmons,
chairman of the finance committee,
sav how the vote was going and sug-
gested that all consumption taxes be
dealt with at once. On Broussard's
motion the senate rejected them all
by vote of 50 to 2S."
Mr.. McChesney says he is not sur
prised to hear that coffee has been
left. free of the consumption tax, as
were the other food articles. He en-
Nssizes the statement that he had
heard of no Hawaii men who had OBJ
jected TO the imposition of the con-
sumption coffee tax, II 1t was believed |
necessary as q war measure.
1T has always been the policy of |
tariff advocates to not tax coffee and |
save the poor mans breakfast cup |
from prohibitiye cost. II would have |
been a reversal OF policy to tax coffee |
and not sugar." he adds.
The result of the elimination of the
consumption tax will be nil, so far as
concerns the Hawaii coffee produc-
ers, for, he says, the extra tax, IL |
imposed, naturally would have been
added to the price which the con-
sumner now has to pay for coffee.
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