The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-08
WHITE PRESENTS FIGURES

| William b. White, attorney of Birming-
| ham, who has made a study of income
| and excess profits taxes for years, was
! the next speaker. Business in Alabama
| in 1918, he said, was taxed between $35,-
100000 and s40,o00,0o0, of which about $25,-
100000 was paid to the federal govern
| ment in income and excess profits taxes
He said Alabama is the only state pro-
posing to levy an excess profits tax He
declared that the smaller corporations
and the men of smaller means would
pay the larger part of the excess profits
tax
He said Senators Bankhead and Under
wood opposed the excess profits tax be-
cause they knew that the south where
the capital was small, would be hard
est hit by this kind Of tax. The excess
profits tax he said, was levied by the
federal government because of great
emergency, but he said there is no emer-
gency in Alabama requiring such a tax
The revenue bill, he said, exempts in
comes from business having no invested
capital, and he suggested that it ought
also to exempt businesses with nominal
capital.
In his opinion the machinery for col
leoung this tax will be expensive. and
he predicted that it would cost more to
collect it than the collections would
amount to. He said it is merely a camou-
flage to increase the income tax. He
said the bill is full of Inconsistencies and
| At should be thoroughly gone over be-
| fore It is reported.
SOUNDS LABOR PROTEST
| T. c. Dewitt, secretary of the Mohil.
Trades Council, in behalf of ORGANIZED
labor, protested against the income and
| excess profits tax
Albert p. Bush of Mobile declared that
| II Alabama imposes a tax that no other
state imposes, tax to which we willing.
ly submitted because we were told it had
| to be imposed because of the war. will
| retard the state. He said the peonle
were told during the campaign that they
were to have business administration
and the present officials were elected
on that platform. If the people are TO
| develop the state, he said, they must
1 be given the chance to borrow money ia
earn something, but with the federal
taxes and the taxes proposed in this
revenue bill, business cannot go very
| far.
Business must go forward or backward.
he said. and under these taxes it cannot
go forward.
! He said the people wanted to paw the
states debt, but they do not want to
pay off in three years debts that have
| been accommodating over period of 25
years.
l.
stead of a borrower, he said, this auto
cratic, Independent attitude might be as
sumed, but Alabama is a borrower
He said that Mobile on account of out
side capital coming in and her own peo-
pie being able to borrow has gone from
50, 900 to over 10000 in population, and in
creased property values millions of dol
lars.
All classes of people from all parts of
the state are here. he said. protesting
against this tax, and they are begging
the legislature not to impose it.
HAD PEOPLE HYPNOTIZED
He said if the people of Alabama had
known two weeks ago what was in this
bill they would be here in numbers
that would make people think another
cantonment had opened up. They had
confidence in the men they had elected,
they had been hypnotized and believed
in the business administration, but they
are beginning to realize what is in the
bill and what it means.
He said If property valuations were in
creased to anything like the go per cent
basis fixed by law all the revenues needed
and more would be raised. This increase
with enhanced values of property would
raise more than the 100000 asked for.
In closing the discussion Mr. Hooper