New-York tribune., 1921-09-13
Hold
TO 80 Per Cent
Income Surtax
Finance Committee Favors
Keeping In Exemption of
$4,000 for Heads of Fam
lilies as Incorporated inBill
Measure Ready Sept. 2l
Vote Will Be Taken To-day
on Matter of Repeal of
Excess Profits Provision
From The Tribune,s Washinaton Bureau


WASHINGTON, Sept. 12.-The SEN
ate Finance Committee at its meeting
to-day decided to make the maximum
rate Tor surtaxes on incomes 32 per
cent, as provided in the House bill. 1t
declined to accede to the proposal of
Secretary of the Treasury Mellon that
the rate be 25 per cent. The commit
tee also decided that the reduction in
the surtaxes should begin to apply
January 1, 1922.
further important decision was to
accept the provisions of the House bill
making the exemption for the head of
family $4,000 and making the exemp-
ton for each dependent child s4OO, in
stead of 5000, as in the existing law.
The normal tax figures were kept assin
the present law, at and per cent.
Tomorrow the committee will vote
on the question of when to make the
repeal of the excess profits tax effec-
tive. Developments in the committee
to-day indicated the repeal would be
fixed for January /, 1922, the same as
in the House bill. Senators on the com
mittee who favor repeal as of the first
Of the present year, said tonight they
dld not expect to muster enough votes
to carry their proposition.
Apprehension of adverse political ef-
fects in agricultural states if the re-
peal is dated January /, 1921, will evi-
IDENTIFY defeat the plan to make repeal
retroactive. Moreover, there have been
distinct intimations that if the com
mittee reported in favor of making the
repeal retroactive it would be beaten in
the Senate and that, even should the
Senate put in retroactive provision,
the House would not accept it.
Bill Ready September 21
Chairman Penrose of the Finance
Committee said to-day that personally
he favored dating the repeal back to
January 1, 1921. 1t was learned, how
ever, that he does not expect this view
to prevail.
The meeting of the committee was
attended by the Republicans and by
Senators Simmons, Gerry and Walsh
(Massachusetts), Democrats. The de-
cision with respect to the surtaxes was
in accord with the decision of the Re-
publlcans of the committee at cauc&s
the latter part of last week.
Practically no doubt was left TODAY
that the committee would be able to re-
port the bill to the Senate when that
body meets on September 21, one week
from Wednesday. The committee de-
termined to vote on the bill and al
pending amendments and questions re-
ating to it Friday. This will give the
Treasury experts and the experts of
the committee time to complete the
drafting Of the measure in detail and
report by September 21. The commit
tee will sit day and night if need be
IN order to report the bill on schedule
time. Chairman Penrose said that the
bill would be made the unfinished busi-
ness IN the Senate as soon as that BODY
reconvenes, and that he would insist
on it being kept before the Senate in
order to pass it with the least delay.
He said he did not anticipate any or
ganized attempt at delay.
Premier Is Heard
The committee will attempt to settle
both the excess profits tax question
and the most important remaining fea-
lures OF the measure tomorrow, What
is to be done about the TRANSFORMATION n
tax is not yet settled, and there ia a
division Of opinion about it.
The committee to-day voted to ac
cept the net loss provision of the House
! Dill with minor amendment. The
amendment. permits the taxpayer hav-
ing more deductions thaA net income
in year to carry the wss into the
succeeding year, but not to exceed that
time.
While the committee decided that the
maximum rate of surtaxes should be
80 per cent, the amount of the tax to
be imposed under the different brackets
is to be determined later.