Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-05-10
FIGHT ON TAX BILL
IS GIVING CQ|Q||. | DCE:
CAMPAIGN ISSUE
By DAVID LAWRENCE
Especial Leased Wire to The Journal.)
(Copyright, 1924

! Gent Coolidge may veto the tax bill
and appeal to the country in the
coming elections to give him a con
gress which will support the Mellon
plan.
Such a course is being seriously
advocated here, together with a pro
posaI that the % per cent reduction
in taxes on incomes earned during
1923 shall be applied also to 1924, in
asmuch as the congress elected next
November could not be called into
session until after March 4, 1925.
Apart from his own personality
and capacity as an administrator,
there is no issue as yet on which
the present administration can go to-
the country. The opposition will, oil
course, have plenty of basis for at
J tack, but it is not the purpose OF
the Coolidge administration to wage
d defensive campaign. Some con-
crete proposals will be necessary III
order to ask for q continuance in
power.
The Mellon plan, it is pointed out,
was received with a wave of almost
unanimous support when it was first
announced. Congress was flooded
with petitions and the editorial opin-
ion Of the country seems preponder'
antiy in favor of the Mellon idea.
Insurgents Change Outlook
Since that time, however, a com (!
bination of insurgent Republicans !
and Democrats have operated in both |
the house and the senate, not only /!
to defeat the Mellon plan, but to add
on certain Objectionable features, !
such as the opening of all income |
tax returns to public inspection. Mr..
Coolidge, as the leader of the Re
publican party, has been unable to
command the Republicans to follow |
the Mellon plan. His only redress is
at the polls, where it can be decid |
ed which brand Of Republicans the
electorate wants and whether the
country wished to replace Republic
ans with Democrats.
The whole theory of the Demo
cratic plan has been that it is bound
to be more popular than the Mellon
voter The administration is being
-
namely that the Mellon plan when
explained will have the same sup
port at the polls as it was given by
the editors before it was appa4 ent
that there would be partisan divi-
sion.
Which would help business? An
acceptance by the president OF the
bill proposed by congress, or a fight
in a campaign to get a congress
that would be committed to sup
port the Mellon plan?
There is abundant evidence that
the uncertainty over tax revision
has been a factor in adverse bust
ness conditions here and there The
whole situation has been so confused
in congress that many business men
have not realized that they would
be given cut of % per cent on
their 1923 incomes payable this
year,
Slash Assurance Would Help
IL in addition to that they knew
that the incomes received during
the present year would be taxed at
25 per cent reduction when pad
in March, 1925, they would be able
to make their plans accordingly. A
flat 25 per cent reduction would, in
many ways, be easier to compute
than the present house or senate bill
with its complications.
There is another school of thought,
however, which says the present bill
ought to be accepted by the presi-
dent and fight waged for further
tax revision later on. If the pub
licity feature of the bill and other
seriously Objectionable clauses were
eliminated such a course might be
viewed with more favor at the White
House.
The >sh of the whole thing Is
that congress is about to furnish
the president with a vital issue on
which to base his appeal for election
next November. Whether he signs
the pending bill or vetoes it the
president will continue his effort to
get a scientifically adjustment of
tax schemes adopted, the fundamen-
tai principles of which were outlined
by his secretary Of the treasury. Sew
eral changes in the original Mellon
plan are acceptable to the admins.
tration, in fact, the treasury itself
helped to make some, but on the big
question of surtaXes the administra-
ton is not yet in a mood to com
urOm Sc.
GIFT TAN rs WRITTEN IN;
COMMITTEE OVERRIDDEN
WASHINGTON, May S.--The SEN
ate today approved without a record
vote gift tax written into the reve-
nue. bill by the house, but rejected
by the senate finance committee.
Modified rates, however, were ac-
cepted to conform with the schedule
for the inheritance tax approved
last night, starting at per cent at
$25 900, and graduating to So per
cent on gifts over $5,000000
An amendment offered by Senator
Republican, Illinois, pro-
posing to restore the postal rates eff
fectiVe in 1919 on newspapers, was
approved.
The amendment was adopted % TO