Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-09-21
SMOOT SCORES new
BILL TO RAISE REVENUE
Measure Heaps More Burdens
on Business Man, He
Declares.

washington, ID. C., Sept. 2l.--The /
new revenue bill is to be subjected TO
Republican fire in the Senate. This was |
Indicated yesterday when Senator |
Smoot. leading Republican economist
and regular OF regulars characteriz-
ed the finished product of Senator
Penroses Finance Committee. of which
he is a member In more severe terms
than have come from any Democratic
critic.
The average American business
man. according to Senator Smoot, will
have to bear the brunt of the tax
readjustment. He will not share in
the income surtax reductions. which
will benefit only the "big fellow" On
the other hand, the smaller corpora
tions will suffer from the increase in
the fiat corporation tax from 10 TO
Is per cent. and by failure &c make
the repeal OF the excess profits levy
apply TO the current year, which is
one of the leanest on record.
The big corporations will have the
benefit OF slight reductions, but the In
termediate class of business men who
have built up their business to sub
stantial proportions without hecom-
ing opulent. are clearly entitled to a
kick. according To the Utah Senator.
Its not what the American people
want" he asserted. ut will be an un-
popular bill. There will be a reaction
against IL If it becomes n law
Senator Smoot also attacked the
trainers of the measure as sailing too
close to the wind" in computing the
,.,all fo, sh, Ru,al Nsaar
"They say according to the news
papers, that the bill will raise $4,000
000, 000 during the 1922 fiscal year,
Senator Smoot said. 1t won't do any
thing OF the kind. 1t may raise S2,70O,-
00o. .000-not more.
Even that, as / figure It, will be
enough IL they save what they say
/, they will. But there's another III. :
There are too many ifs in the equa'
tion. They are sailing too close &c
the wind.
= Il estimate the revenue bill a.
written will raise s2,70o. .o00, 900. In ad
= dition to that, we will get about $500,
. 600 900 in postal receipts; 100000,
900 in salvage from the sale OF WA
: materials and ships; perhaps s4oo,
= NNNiNNN AANiA AaA AAAa ~ VIC fNN Naf'
= bill through early this winter, ant
I s2ST, 100000 more from miscellaneou
: items. That will make a total of 81,
= Os7, 900, 900 in receipts for the fisca
: year.
p Against that the estimated expendi
= lures for the year are about $4,000,
Il 600 900. They say they will save $500,
= goo 900 OF that amount. IL they d
II that the Governments income ough
e to equal it's outgo. But II they don
there will be a deficit. That's wha
= ! cali sailing close to the wind-to
n close for comfort"
IT Attacking the Finance Committe
II measure for failing 10 provide relit
Id ator Smoot said:
III 1t rc>4uces surtaxes for the ma
n, whose income is under $4,000 Yea
a but 1t raises them for the man who's
Id income is between $4,000 and $50, 90
|. and that Is the very man we ought I
~ help-the active man in business. II
a Is the man who takes the chances. WI
he engages in new enterprises, who e1
De pands his plant, who builds on additio
~ 10 his store, who goes out to seek nc
rs fields Of trade. Those are the ide
Ne American fellows-the business men
4 the men who drive, drive, drive The
are the men who are building II
country.
You not only fail to reduce the
=, surtaxes, but the bill as drawn ge
Da them another way. BY increasing Il
% corporation tax from 10 to Is per cei
il hits them again. 1t hits this We
fellow we ought 10 be helping. He
the power. He has the brains, q
energy, the initiative. That's the m,
who is going To pay the tax. You i
h, crease his corporation tax by SO p
on cent. Is that going TO help busines
NJ Is that going to help him TO ,xpand
Ill to create new business, which in tu
'tt would be taxable?
Then he gets il once more. BY IA
ing to make the repeal OF the exc.
~ profits tax retroactive the bill pens
" ICES him again. 1t is the average bu
or ness man-the small business man,
IN you will-who will pay hat sax u
p year. 1t isn't the steel corporatio
ed They won't pay any excess profita Z
n. They're not making the mon ~ Yo
ad big oil companies won't pay it. Tn
on are not worrying. They won't
any excess profits this year. No. 5
of it's the average business man. He
nd the one who pays it,"
ew The repear ought to be retl
active" he said, because it is hitti
,nt the very people we want to encoura
IT. II you're going TO get any benefit {
of il, for goodness sake, let's do
NJ now.
IN The big fellows don't care. TIL
~: aren't making the money; il tha~ I
"' they car put it into tax-exempt secu
- ties. The little fellows can't. They
wo putting their money into iheir bu
ness. They're the fellows who ;
building.
The average American busin
loh man doesn't get thing out of the
'ss as drawn. Their taxes viii be high
il will be an unpopular bill. Wo
. than that, il will be a disastrous bi