Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-08-06
LUXURIES TOPAY
ADDITIONAL TAXES
FOR WAR SUPPORT
Ten Per Cent Tax on Retail
Sales Proposed in Measure
to Be Recommended to Con-
greSS Committee Monday .

WASHINGTON, Aug. "a ten per
cent tax on retail sales of a wide va
riety of commonly classified luXurles,
from jewelry to meerschaum pipes, and
from smoking jackets to silken hos
iery, will be recommended to the full
house ways and means committee Mon
day as the result of today's delibera-
tions of the subcommittee OF Injuries.
The semi-luXuries, goods which are
in the class where II is difficult TO dis
tinguish between the real necessity and
the real luxury, such as Sclothing, will
be left to more searching inquiry.
A general revision OF the whole S.
900, 900, 900 BILL being drafted by the
committee will begin Monday, TO de-
termine where increases may be made
to make up the present deficiency OF a
billion and more in the estimated reve-
nue. from excess profits and income as
so far tentatively agreed upon Also
some doubt is expressed whether the
luxury schedule can be made TO produce
all of the $4,000, 100000 allotted to 1t.
Luxury Taxes
I'VE have been considering the so
called luxury schedule" said Chairman
Hull, of the ways and means sub-com-
sion This concerns variety of ques-
tions and articles. The English and
French luxury tax is based on two
schedules of articles, first, articles that
are luxuries by reason of their nature,
such as jewelry, precious stones, goods
mounted with precious metals and so
on; and second, articles deemed luNur-
les by reason of the price paid for them,
as. for instance, SIS paid for suit If
clothes, instead of $40, where the tax
would rest on the excess over $40. This
plan would extend through wearing APP
parel generally on different bases work
ed out according to trade conditions"
The subcommittee today in it's search
for taxable Iuxuries considered all forms
of jewelry, silk underwear, curios and
antiques, liveries, art, except where sold
by the artists themselves; tapestry
hunting garments, ladies' driving hab-
it's, license tax on riding academies, cut
glass, opera glasses, meerschaum and
amber pipes. cigar holders and humi-
doris, smoking jackets and lounging
robes furs, but not those merely an in
cidental part of other clothing; orna-
mental lamps. umbrellas, parasols and
canes when mounted in precious metals
and stones, and like articles. While the
action is not final, a 10 per cent tax on
practically all of these was agreed upon
for ratification by the full committee.
The tax will be put on the retailer SELL
ing to the customer the retailer being
expected to charge enough to cover the
tax.
Additional Profit. Taxes
The committee in it's investigation of
taxable Iuxuries today is understood TO
have considered also prices on hotter
rooms ard meals, and hotel price lists
were scrutinized and efforts made to
establish definitions separating the ex-
pensive from the necessary.
War profits tax additional to the ex-
cess profits and corporation income
raxeS, and the alternative plan to apply
either the excess profits or a war prof
it's plan according TO which would y1elo
the most revehue from each concern,
Viii be again before the full commit
tee next week. President Wilson let t
he known Informally today that he ia
Vored a war profit tax in the pending
bill but members Of the committee scy
the president has not communicated
with them on the psubject.
Representative Moore, one of the
ranking Republicans on the committee
expressed this view tonight:
The higher ano larger incomes ard
probably the excess profits could stand
a little more than is now contemplated
in the pending bilL'