New-York tribune., 1921-02-01
business q Men Enlisted i'm
Favor Of Plan; Present
system Failure, Speakers
Say-at Luncheon Here

About Afsy business men, many Of
tnem representing large department
and chain STORES throughout the coun-
try, yesterday were enlisted in favor
of the per cent tax on gross sales as
substitute for the excess profits
supertax and the many luxury and
sales taxes now in, existence, at d
/ luncheon ait the Bankers Club. eiyen
liby jules $. Bache, banler, and Henry
- samstag, Of samstag & Hilder Broth
, ers, large wholesalers Of notions, nov
elites, etc.
Mr- Bache, in explaining the move
to impress Congress with a need for a
change IN the taxation eystam. asserted
that the present system haa collapsed
and that the Treasury Department, in
ms opinion, is facing "a huge deficit
this year. He also stated that the ex-
cess profits and supertaxes were him
fdering business development, particu-
larry capital investments, and cited an
instance OF company in which he is a
| 6dr 6oIecsor @ which has a surplus of $3,-
| uve,VVU set aside to cover possible re-
! visions In it's tax reports as far back as
iylV which has not yet heen approved
Dy the government,
| ~ ana optimistic on the business
eituation," he said, "but business will
not reach q state we can call success
tui until the taxation question has been
| equltably adjusted
John Oh 3, Hord. former commissioner
4 in the Philippines, and author Of the
| sales tax which was inaugurated in the
| islands seventeen years ago, explained
\ the operation Of the tax there and
lauded it's simplicity and almost auto-
! matte assessment and collection as it's
Chief recommendations. He advocated
/ the adoption of such tax in this
country.
An attack on the present system of
{ aSaxation was launched by Professor
I Charles Bullock, Of Harvard University,
who reviewed his research work on the
balance sheets of manufacturing cor
| porations aggregating several billions
i5of dollars. He said that his research
/ work convinced him that Amost of the
/ firms who paid the highest taxes had
/ expanded unduly, although they helped
l.us win the war, and were now faced
/ with large debts and assets locked up
IN new plants and heavy Inventories
4 The financial needs of the country, on
which new taxation system must be
based, he said, are too uncertain to
tparmit OF outlining a definite perma-
'nan!t policy. The estimates .of a four
billion dollar-a-year budget made by
Secretary of the Treasury Houston, he
| asserted, should not be blindiy ac-
| ceptsd. He advocated the sales tax as
Fa temporary measure to be tried out,
/ and if found successful retained. 1t
should be confined, he added, to sales
/ OF comniod dities and services and not to
4 capital investment.
Department. stores, according to
1 Meyer Rothschiid, chairman of the
| Business Mems National Tax Commit
tee, estimate that 25 per cent of the
consumers dollar goes into taxes at
present. A sales tax, he added, even
with It's accnmulations, would not aver
age more than 3A to 4 pep cent on
the consumers expenditures, He read
a.latter from a member of the Senata,
Finance Committee i,i which it was
stated that the sentiment in the COM
mittee Is favorable to the sales tax
Land, the repeal Of the excess profits
tax super tax and sales taxes now on
! Che statute books.