San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-02
TAX BILL NOT
SATISFACTORY
AS It STANDS
Both Parties Expect Meas
ure to Come Out
OF Senate
FIGHT JUST BEGUN
Only Hope For Lower Rates
Lies In Democratic
Break. |
FIGHT JUST BEGUN
By DAVID LAWRENCE.

Copyright by The San Antonio Light.
Washington, ID. c., March 1.-The
administration tax bill now goes from
the frying pan into the fire. Too
many cooks-an unwieldly House of
entatives-spoiled the Mellon
plan and the measure which now goes
TO the Senate is so Scared and burn
ed that nobody can claim it as salts
factory as it stands. Both Repub-
licans and Democrats, as well IS
President Coolidge and Secretary Mel
Ion, expect a bill TO come out of the
81 ItP.
But the Senate is bound to tea
the whole tax bill to pieces and re-
write the House measure. The tenn
porary coalition between the insurg-
ent Republicans and the Democrats
did not succeed in passing the plan
offered by Representative Garner,
Democrat. Texas, but it did succeed
in defeating the Mellon schedule OF
rates. The difference between the
Garner plan and that which was fin
ally adopted by the House on the sug-
gestion of Representative Longworth
of Ohio. Republican leader. is not
very substantial. In principle. the
Longworth plan is much the same as
the Garner proposal because both
ignore the argument of Secretary Mel
lon to the effect that high surtaxes
are avoided and cannot be collected.
On reaching the higher incomes, es-
pecially over 100000, there is only
slight difference in the effect of d
81 IL per cent surtax presented by
Mr.. Longworth as compared with a A
per cent surtax proposed By Mr.. Car
ner. The argument of the Treasury
Department has been that not until
surfaces have been reduced TO. ap-
proximately % per cent will the large
investors get away from tax exempt
securities to taxable investments.
Fight just Begun.
The Republicans in the House have
adopted a bill which contradicts the
Mellon principle and judging by the
informal assertions from the White
that q veto will not be surprising.
To saw so. however, at this time is
not considered discreet. for the admin
istration hopes to rally its forces in
the Senate and push the surtax rate
down from 81 IL per cent, at least as
far as 80 per cent. The Democrats,
on the other hand, will wage their
fight for the Garner plan which has
been adopted more or less as the Dem
ocrafie program. The insurgent Re-
publicans in the Senate are not likely
TO be as quick 10 yield as were the
insurgents in the House and the
Western senators who will join the
Democrats are not likely to be as
easily intimidated or as likely to be
disturbed. whether the tax bill as
passed BY the Senate bears Dem
ocratic or a Republican label.
The House Republican leaders made
their compromise and won over the in
surgent Republicans on the plea that
the bill going through the House
should bear a Republican label so
that the country would not have the
impression of a Republican disunity.
To gain that point the Republican
leaders sacrificed the Mellon plan and
the administration acquiesced largely
in the hopes that the Senate would re-
write the bill. The fight has just be-
gun. Many OF the insurgent Republ-
can senator's who will desert their
party's proposal are not up for re-elec-
ton this autumn as are all members