Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-10-30
BILL
is OPPOSED BY
BLUFFS MEMBER
Judge Green Explains Diff
cuIties in Changing Method
Of Collecting Lux
uries Tax.
By E. c. SNYDER.
Washington Correspondent Of The Omaha
Bee.

Warrington Correspondent OF The Omaha
Washington, Oct. 2o.-(Special
Telegram) - Since Congressman
Jefferies introduced "a bill repeating
the so-called luxury taxes on soda
water, ice cream, theate~ tickets,
etc, and levying a manufacturers
tax at u ,of per cent, he has re-
ceived many letters favorable to the
project, especially from the clothing
trade, in which officials of that or
ganlzation pledge themselves to get
behind the movement.
Judge, Green of Iowa, a member
of the ways and means committee,
discussing the proposed tax on
manufactured articles, was not par
ticuIarly enthusiastic over the
scheme to raise money on manu-
ofacturers' sales tax. Reviewing the
effort made in his committee to get
a general sales tax bill through con-
gress, the congressman from the
Council Bluffs district said:
THE ways and means committee
has had, during the last four years,
many propositions submitted to it
for sales tax. At first it was pro-
posed that there should be a gen.
eral tax on all sales. There were so
many objections to this that it has
been practically abandoned, and the
most urged is manufacturers sales
tax to take the place of some of the
excise taxes.
Oppose Tax Plan.
THE majority of the ways and
means committee has not looked
favorable upon this kind of tax,
first because it is consumption
tax, which is usually passed on to the
consumer. who pays it many times
over. Being tax upon necessities
the section man paws as much, and
if he has large family, may pay
more than Rockefeller.
Second. such tax works out
very unfairly in its application be-
cause it would compel all small in
termediate manufacturers to sell out
to the big trusts. Thus where the
operations were carried on separate
1y there would be a tax on the
maker of pig iron, a tax on the
maker of steel. tax OIL the maker
of tool steel and tax on the tool
that is finally sold to the consul
mer, whereas the steel trust, which
conducts all of these operations.
would pay but one tax. There would
be tax on the cloth made by the
mill and another tax when the
cloth was made into clothing. The
makers of automobile parts would
be compelled to sell out to the manu
facturer of automobiles. which
makes practically everything con-
nected with the machine in order
TIT there might be but one sales
fax.
Unequal in Practice.
Moreover, the tax. while equal
i'll percentages, is very unequal and
unfair otherwise In same cases it
would absorb a large proportion of
the profits as in the case of big con-
Germs to which small percentage
of the sales is sufficient for their
profit. In other cases profits would
be hardly affected. Depending on
the nature of the business, ene man
whose profits were $4,000. but whose
sales were 100000 would pay twice
as much as another man whose
profits were $4,000, but whose sales
were only $4,000.
Some of the taxes now levied
are undoubtedly burdensome, but
we are paying for the war and the
patriotic citizen should be willing
to accept some burdens and troubles
growing out of this great contest.
The true remedy is the reduction
Of our expenditures which should
be everywhere reduced to mimi
mum as soon as possible, with an
approaching deficit of over $3,000,-
100000 caused by the appropriations
and authorize tons of the last con-
gress it is difficult to see how any
reduction can Immediately be eff
fected."