The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1921-08-26
TAX REVISION BILL
BEFORE HOUSE
Ways and Means Committee
Presents Measure Fathered
by Administration.
CHANGED IN CONFERENCE
Republican Representatives Prevent
Making Excess Profits Repeal Retro
active To Yield $4,000, 900, 600.
Reductions Total $3.50, 900, 900.

Washington.-The Republican mem
bership Of the house tore wide holes
in the Fordney Tax Revision bill-al-
most before the ink was dry on 1t.
At party caucus which followed the
formal introduction of the measure in
the house of representatives Republi-
cans voted 96 to 81, in favor of mo-
ton to amend the bill so as to make
the repeal Of the Excess Profits tax
effective as of January 1, 1922, in
stead of January 1, 1921.
The Ways and Means Committee
suffered q further defeat in having the
amount of the assessment fixed at 12Hs
per cent instead of Is per cent, an in
crease over existing taxes. of 21a in
stead of per cent as proposed in the
Fordney bill.
At the time Middle Western Re-
publicans were voting to continue for
the current year the excess profits
levies on business, delegation repre-
senting the American Farm Bureau
Federation was calling at the White
House to protest to President Harding
against the repeal of the excess profits
taxes as provided originally in the
Fordney bill. The Presidents callers
contended the pending bill "distinctly
places large proportion of the tax
burden On the shoulders of those who
are least able to pay" They charged
the bill raised from 90 per cent to so
per cent the ratio of taxes "collec ected
out of the living wage and the pay
envelope" and that it constituted
abandonment of the principle Of every
citizen being taxed according to his
abiit! to pay.
Representative Frear, of Wisconsin,,
precipitated the caucus action on the
excess profits tax. He offered mo-
tion to have a separate vote in the
house on the repeal of those levies and
of the income SurtaXes in the higher
brackets. By moving 10 amend the
Frear motion, Representative Mann
brought about the victory for the
farmer viewpoint
Having started out to change the
bill the Republican membership went
a step further in an unexpected direc-
ton: The tax of Is per cent On near
beer and other cereal beverages was
reduced to 6 per GENT.
Among the important changes in the
administration of the tax laws and
the notifications of existing levies writ
duced In the house were the following:
The jewelers. tax of per cent on
eyeglasses and spectacIes, and the
manufacturers tax of per cent on
portable electric fans would be re-
pealed.
A tax of 10 per cent would be i'm
posed on lenses for cameras weighing
not more than 100 pounds.
Incorporation of a virtual tax on
undistributed earnings of corporations
at the rate of 25 per cent, over and
above other corporation taxes provided
corporations impound their earnings
with a view to enabling stockholders
to escape the surtaXes on dividends.
Exemption from taxation would be
granted to farmers cooperative pur-
chasing organizations as we'll as to
selling organizations where the mate
rials purchased are turned over to
members of the organization lat actual
cost plus necessary expenses"
A provision urged repeatedly by
business men to the effect that when a
taxpayer sustains a net loss during
one year the amount of that loss might
be charged off in the report of net
income for the following year
A fiat tax of Is per, cent would be
imposed on profits from the sale of
capital assets if the ne, income Of the
taxpayer and the capital asset gain in
the aggregate in excess of So, 900
Under existing law the graduated sur
taxes apply to such returns
For administration of the law for
eign trade corporations are defined as
those doing less than 20 per cent Of
their total business in the United
States