The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-07
EXCESSDROFITS
 TAX REPEAL WILL
 LIKELY BE UGED
House Ways and Means Committee to Get Dow,s,e,sa, Brass Tacks of T,o
 vision Tssse ,n
B .o % sd Press


 washingto " August s.-Majority members of the House ways and means committee expect to get down to brass tacks of tax revision next week.
 Chairma Fordney said today that the rewriting of levy provisions in the 1918 law probably would begin Monday, and that unless an unexpect- ed snag was encountered the new bill should be ready within Q days. Lead CTS generally. say House consldera- ton will require only a few days.
 With revision of the administrative features out of the way, the work now before the republican commit teemen is to determine the extent of the cuts possible, and just where they are to be made The general belief seems to be that the committee bill will propose repeal of the excess profits tax. but whether the effective date will be last January l or next January 1. apparently remains to be determined.
 
 profits tax. il is planned to increase the corporation income tax from the present 10 Der cent to 1 , per cent, and also to repeal the S2,000 exemption allowed corporations under the exist ing law. Chairman Fordney said to- day however, that it mi ght be neces- sary to make some specific provision in the bill to relieve the burden it has been claimed this would impose on the small corporations with lim- ited incomes
 Has New Proposal
 The chairman also disclosed a pro- posal to write into the new bill a provision taxing the income of the so-called personal service corpora tons, such as architectural firms not incorporated under law. the same as the income of other corporations. The supreme court has held that the pres ent law is not applicable to such com cerns.
 Mir. Fordney also said 1t was not proposed to relieve public service cor porations from part of the 15 per cent income tax provision of the bill, The chairman indicated that he was not particularly impressed with the argument that this would hit many such corporations very hard, saying that electric light, street railway, gas and such companies having a small net income would pay a pro- portionally small revenue to the gov ernment.
 i Aside from revision of these levy sections of the law, the minds of many committee members are turned to repeal of the higher income sur ] taxes. of all or part of the trans J n ~.E ( l. FNaa fs.i z and ice cream levies 1t is explained however, that it does not necessarily follow that these changes will be made or that other changes in the i 1918 law will not be made. The act ual revisions are yet to be agreed upon with indications of some lights l in the committee before the com pleted bill comes out.
 Would Approximate Cut
 It was estimated today by some that immediate repeal of the whole transportation tax, the soda water l tax and the higher surtaxes, to- eether with the s55, 100000 which the treasury experts figure will be lost this fiscal year through repeal of the excess profits tax as of last January h would approximate the half billion dollar cut which republican leaders in the House inSiSI SdH pC -1"NS Ai' the tax levy.
 With such reduction the taxes to be paid this fiscal year would ap- rroximate s3.07o,0o0,00 on the basis of treasury estimates presented to the committee. and would include s2s5 .ooo, 900 estimated back taxes. In addition to this income, the treasury figures customs receipts under the proposed new tariff law at S370,VOo, 100 and income from miscellaneous sources at about s35o,ooo,o0o, making total income of s3,7s0, 100000, as against an outgo estimated Tn tne treasury statement at $4,554 ,oeo, ,ooo.
 Supporters of the tax cut declare, however. that the apparent dehcit of s764. .o00, o00 would be greatly de- creased through addiuonal col lections on back taxes, estimated al probably s100. 0.00o,000, larger income from mi iscellaneous sources and de- creases in expenditures. includins those on account of the pubic debt l-s .l-a xravjo,,S federal departmentS.