The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-20
HOUSE ACCEPTS 5O AMENDMENTS ID TAX MEASURE Republicans and Democrats Unite In Striking Out $l0 Annual Soft Drink
 License
By Associated Press

the republican tax bill, most of them ot minor importance, were accepted today by the House in a five hours session marked by occasional clashes between the majority and minority ana renewal of the personal con troversy between Chairman Fordney of the ways and means committee and Representative Byrnes, democrat, South Carolina
 A number of other changes in the bill, including elimination of the provisions for per cent tax on the manufacturers of proprietary medicines, tooth powder and paste and mouth washes and a reduction in the tax on cereal beverages from 6 to { cents gallon are reported to be proposed tomorrow by the ways and means committee before the measure is passed late in the day.
 Republicans and democrats of the House were unit today in approv- ing one amendment. that striking out the section of the bill imposing an annual license tax of sl0 on ven changes there were sharp divisions, but many of the. minor ones merely changing language or punctuation were put through without a single member on either side voting on the yea" and ''nay" calls. All of the committee changes proposed were adopted.
 Under one amendment, approved over democratic opposition, corpora tions making gifts for charitable purposes would be relieved from tax on such sums unless they exceeded 5 per cent of the net income of the donating company.
 Big Fight of Day
 The big fight of the day was over an amendment defining foreign trade corporations as domestic corpora tions and American citizens as for eign traders, 50 per cent or more of whose gross income is derived f h sources outside of this country.
 The democrats claimed this pro posale was a discri mination against purely domestic corporations In the matter of taxes. The republicans de- tended 1t on the ground that 1t was necessary to relieve foreign trade corporations and foreign traders of on income received outside of. the country fin order that they might compete with foreign concerns. The amendment was adopted One Of
 
 by the ways and means committee, but yet to be presented to the House, proposes the creation of tax inves- tigation commission which would in quire into:
 Effect upon the federal revenues of tax exempt state and municipal se- curities:
 Effort of existing differences in law between the federal taxation of tn- dividua1s and partnerships and ot corporations: .
 The taxation of expenditures and reduction of the tax upon savings. as means for raising revenue, stimu- latinE thrift and redistributing the burdens of taxation and the effects of income and profits taxes upon the and investment of liquid capitals
 The commission would make year. ly reports to both the President and Congress and consist of nine mem bers, three senators and three mem bers of the House, appointed by the preceding officers and three repre- sentatives of the public appointed by the President.
 The views of the minority, written by Representative Kitchin of North
 
 ways and means committee, who is i'll at his home in North Carolina were filed with the House late today by Representative Oldfield, democrat, Arkansas. While announcing demo- cratics opposition to many provisions of the bill," MT. kitchin confined his report to what he termed the two principal provisions. of the re publican tax programme-repeal or the excess profits tax and the sub- stttution of 2z per cent increase in the corporation income tax and eli- imitation of the surtax rates
 The North Carolina member de- clared repeal of the profits tax would be "an absolute surrender to and obedient of the will and command of the big corporate interests. and one of the most vicious pieces of legis- 1ation that was ever proposed or advocated openly by any public man since the beginning of the govern ment"
 Tt demonstrates" he added, the fact that the members voting for 1t will. and must look hereafter to these corporate interests for support rather than to the plain people" = . Mir. Kitchin renewed the claim made in his recent telegram to the demo- cratic caucus that the profits tax repeal would benefit the rich cor portions at the expense of the poor, and to support his argument. gave figures which he declared were ob- tained from the annual reports of the commissioner of internal revenue. Declaring the reports showed the corr pora tions in thls country made s41.- 900. O00, 900 profit from January | 1918. to. January :. 1921. Mir. sKitchin said that after reducing income, sx- cess profit and other war taxes, they had q clear profit left of $SS .0e0, 000,- 900. more than four-fifths of which was. made by less than 10000 cor porations and more than half oi which was made by i.036 of the big profiteering corporations. which in- cludes the steel trust, the Bethiehem Steel company, the Dupont company, the Various Standard Oil companies, the coal combines, the woolen trust, the meat packersr-etc.'
 .What an mpregnabie position 1t would be-" said Mir. Kitchin. and what an appeal it would make 70 the jkense of right and justice Of the people for the democrats to take the position that not dollar or taxes sheuids be reduced on these pronteer- ink corporations and pn the million aires and multi millionaires tnas r@Apsd the harvest of wealth dur ihgl the war as long as there is . Single disabled soldier or as ione las there is a widiw or orphan ot 2 dead soldier or a single one,in need. DAVIS CASE ITO JURY
 By Associated Press ME