The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-12-07
WAR PROF|TEER|NG
is TO BE CHECKED
BY GOVERNMENT
Those Who Use Act To Increase
income win Find Them
III selves In Trouble
COLLECTOR TOMBSTONE
TOLD TO INVESTIGATE
Moving Picture Houses, Tobacco
Dealers and Druggists Among
: Those To Be Examined


!. Those To Be Examined
Proprietors of moving picture houses,
tobacco dealers aud merchants general,
ly who have used provisions Of tho
war revenue act to increase their
profits may meet sharp check from the.
federal government as the result 81
nationwide investigation that has been
started by the treasury ,department. 4
The method that IL to be followed In
making tthe investigation Is Indicated
IN orders that have been received at
the Office Of the collector of internal
revenue here. Hs 'l.,.
The local Office has been Instructed
TO Investigate prices of Commodities NJ
fected by the tax provisions nf the
war revenue act All eases in which
prices have been. unduly inflated are
TO be reported to Washington. It Is
stated that long list of articles taxed
under the new act are now by reaa0n
of the act paying dealers bigger
profit than before the tax was imposed.
Case Is cited
Reference was made recently to a
magazine advertisement of a phone
graph, in which the statement was
made that five percent had been added
to the price "due to the war taxi,
In this way the act was made TO pay
the seller of the photograph . clear
added profit Of two percent, because
the war tax on monographs amounts TO
only three percent. 1
The same sort Of criticism has been
leyelled against moving picture houses
generally. II IS pointed out that while
the war tax on admissions is ten per
cent Of the price of admission, thea
ters generally have boosted the prices
of admission from fifteen to forty per.
cent to meet this ten percent tax. In
answer to charges Of this sort moving
picture men reply that in addition TO the
war tax on admissions, they are called
upon to pay the film footage tax,
which, IL is admitted; has become an
important factor in the costs Of flint
The total footage tax on films, how
ever, amounts to three.fonrths Of a
cent . foot. As II is paid but once
and as the films are used indefinitely,
tbs footage tar charge, II is contend.
ed, Is spread out over a very large
number of houses and in the end may
not amount to a great deal.
Tobacco Dealers HIT
| cigarette and tobacco dealers are
said TO be fragrant offenders in the
matter Of using the tax act 10 gouRe
out added. profits The new revenue
act lifts the tax on cigarettes eighty
cents thousand over what II was be-
fore The war tax therefore on a pack
age Of the more popular brands OF eli
garettes that retail Mt fifteen cents for
package of ten would be preciaelv
four-fifths Of n cent. Yet many deal
ers have boosted the prices OF these
brands frem fifteen cents package
| TO twenty cents. scoring an added profit
of four and n, fifth cents, on the pre-
text of collecting the tax Of four.fifths
/ Of a cent. ,sf s q.
This is particularly the case in Ho-
lnolulu. fe ylt1 Fh .satiE Fs
.InG answer to this charge tobacco
dealers point out that profits on cigar.
ettssare almost invisible and that most
4 of them 90 Into the Golfers of the
American TobaceoI company. They con
tend that in,the face, of rising prices 1t
would have been necessary to raise
] prices, war tax or no war tax and that
the increase Is one that was sDeeeasary
and only by coincidence was made at
4 a - A. A. - q
the same time that the increase was
MADE 70 meet the war tax. .fi
About Cigars 5a
/ The general charge works out in the
same way in the sales of cigars Those
retailing at less than four cents, brands
for which the demand is slight, are not
| taxed. ON Q popular brand which form
erly sold for six for a quarter the IN
erense of tax amounts TO 81 a thousand.
With many popular smokes Of this sort
the dealers merely have quit selling six
for a quarter and sell the cigars at
five cents straight. This seeH1as a
slight change, but It works out that
the smoker pays the war tax on his
cigar and also an excess profit of eley.
endfteenth OF, cent and means that
the dealer makes a profit Of 1888 1.S
on thousand cigars more than
formerly with the war tax paid. On
the more costly brands on which the
tax is higher and which have had hAav-
Ter price increases, the excess PROFITS
climb still higher.
Other Goods
II sparfnmaa taasnn atfaa nj o.. -