The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-08-01
TAX ON GASOLINE
AND AUTOMOBILES
IS To Be LEVIED
Excise Tax on Autos in
Addition to 10 Per
Cent Of Value.
TWO CENTS ON GAS
Committee Figures That
Resulting Revenues
Will Be About
$4,000, 900.
TWO CENTS ON GAS

Washington. July 3l.--A tax on
L gasoline and An excise tax on the use
L OF automobiles were adopted by the
ways and means committee today for
| the $4,000, 10000 revenue hill. The
gasoline tax viii be cents gallon.
I TO be paid by the producer or manu-
facturer. The automobile tax. which
. is In addition to the 10 per cent tax
on manufacturers sales agreed upon
yesterday. will be paid by the owner
OF the car and viii range from $40 on
q $500 car TO $40 on car costing
between :4.5eo and $1,000.
Motor trucks will pay according to
the same schedule ~ automobiles.
On motorcycles there win be a fiat
tax OF SIS a year. Another tax prob
ably will be devised to hit the dealers
In used cars.
1t is estimated that the tax on gaso-
line will bring In between $4o.0o0,ooo
and Sac, 600, 600. The automobile tax
10 estimated TO produce not less than.
25,aD0, 900.
These were the only items on the
treasury departments luxury list that
were discussed by the committee to-
ay, In order to expedite 4ction on
IL other items. the committee au-
Chairman Kitchtn 70 sppotnt
tsan~ 10 sgar~ 1ssf taie INK
snld be taxed. The COM
sisting OF Representative
: ennessee; Helvering. of
Moore. OF Pennsylvania.
10 report. to the full COM
Ater than{Saturday OF this
ortant things In connection
automobile tax are to be
FIRST the tax will be assessed
nag to the retail list price OF
ar at the time of manufacture.
ere will be no deduction for the
te OF the car nor for the length of
me IL has been In use. Hence q car
costing $4,000 in 1910 will pay just
a. much as a 1918 model costing the
same amount
Owner Must Pay.
In the second place. the tax will
be an excise tax and will have to be
paid by the owner. whether 1t is in use
or not. Car owners who might think
they could evade payment OF the tax
by laying the car up in the garage,
stripping it OF its tires and putting
it out OF service will be mistaken:
the revenue collector will get them
Just the same, because they own the
car even II 1t can't run around the
block.
The schedule OF taxes agreed upon
IL as follows:
Cars costing $500 or less. $40: be-
tween 1900 and $3.50. SIS: between
MISC and $1,000. $50: between $4,000
1000. $40; between $4,000 and
$4,000. $50: between $4,000 and
$4,000. $50. between $500 and
.y4,000, 500: between $1,000 and
%4.500. $40. between $4,000 and
5000, $40.
In other words, the tax increases
$40 for every $500 after the $1,000
price is passed. until it reaches $4,000.
when the increase is at the rate Of
$40 on every additional $500 OF the
cars cost. The tax on a car costing
$4,000 would be $780, while the tax
on a $4,000 car would be $3.50.
This schedule follows practically
the same lines as that which was
written into the last revenue bill by
the senate finance committee and
eliminated in conference. except that
the senate schedule made allowances
for the number of years the car may
have been in use. The ways and
means committees plan will make IT
necessary to put in the bill some pro-
vision for a tax on the dealer in used
Ears. for the reason that the 10 per
cent tax is collected only from the
manufacturers and the excise tax
must be paid by the owners or pur-
chaser. Chairman kitchin said that
In all probability some msthod would
be found of taxing the used car deal
ers. who would escape taxation under
the arrangement agreed upon.
Ultimate Owner.
The committee has no illusions
about the identity OF the persons who
viii pay the gasoline tax. Although
the section provides that 1t shall be
paid by the manufacturer or pro-
Queer tho committee Ia fully cog
nizant OF the fact that the tax will be
passed on to the consumer and ulti-
InafeIy must be paid by the car owner
who buys the gasoline. Notwithstand-
ing this fact. the committee 10 OF the
opinion that such an eventuality might
mot be altogether an unmtxed bless
ing, for 1t might lead to q marked
conservation in use Of gasoline and
the elimination OF very considerable
amount OF waste.
The main idea OF the committee.
therefore, in deciding upon gaso-
line tax was to reduce the constimp-
tion and restrict the useless running
of cars. The committee has no fgurea
which indicate that there might be
: gasoline shortage, but appeal lhas