Evening star., 1925-03-27
TAX PUBLICATION
. REPEAL HELD LOST
Advocates of Change Weak
en- in Face of Congress
Firm Stand.
ny DAVID LAWRENCE.

Income tax returns for the year
1924, on which first payments have
just been made, will surely be pub
1ished. though the lists will not be
available for a few months.
Despite all the furore which first
publication made, last Autumn, the
advocates of repeal are gradually
losing their fire and energy and be-
ginning to acknowledge that it's a
losing fight-that publicity has come
to stay.
The Supreme Court of the United
States still has before it some cases
which will settle whether newspaper
publication or private publication"
If there is such a thing, was intended
by Congress, and the lower courts
have already said that publication
means by any ethod-newspaper or
pamphlet or anything else that con-
veys the information to the public.
For example, an enterprising indi-
Tidual might even go to the collector
OF internal revenue in a district and
get all the data on dozens of indi-
vfduals and step up to the micro
phone in the evening and read them
off on the radio. The present law
would not prevent that if the deci-
slons of the lower courts are affirmed
Repeal Plans Failed.
administration after denouncing the
publicity sections of the law as VIC
ious did not attempt to get a resolu-
tion of repeal through Congress. The
reason was a fear of provoking
controversy in which the insurgent
Republicans. radicals and some of the
Democrats might join and the result
would be a tie-up of appropriation
bills and other urgent legislation.
The administration faceS the sauna
thing next session. The new tax bill
which will be drawn by the House
ways and means committee in CO.
operation with the Treasury Depart
ment probably will not mention the
publicity section, as the new measure
VIII in sense repeal large portions
of the existing law. But it is certain
that the radical group will start a
fight for the retention of the pro-
vision and then the administration
ssgain will have to decide whether ii
is more important to suppress facts
about income tax returns and make
z. stand on that orsuse the provision
as trading point for lower surtax rates,
against which the minority and the
radicals may again combine.
Damage Not Yet Proved.
The trouble with the publicity pro-
vision is that while there has been
denunciation of 1t as unfair to the
income taxpayers, most of the mem
bers of Congress are not yet con-
WINGED that any great damage has
been proved Most of the taxpayers,
in fact, more than 100000 persons,
pay relatively small sums, and their
returns are of no special Importance
to any except a few of the curious.
The returns of corporations and
nd a
subject of scrutiny. Some of this
class. are taking the position that
publicity is going to be q good thing
in the end, for 1t will prove how un-
productive are high rates of taxation
and how much is going into tax
exempt securities that might have
gone into taxable securities if the
tax rates were not excessive.
Dozens of cases of injustice done
through the publication Of income tax
returns have been brought to the atten-
ton of the Treasury, particularly in
those instances in which companies re-
port deficits, and a damaging impression
is created about their financial status
More sympathy with the repeal of the
publicity section has been developed in
Congress on this account than any other,
but the prevailing idea is that this is
Offset by the advantage to the public
in knowing more about the operations
of large corporations and individuals
from whom large part of the entire
annual revenue of the Government is
collected.
The administration will not recede
from its position. Publicity of the
income tax returns will be made in
the Autumn as provided by law and
denunciation of the practice will be
made by the President and the
Treasury in due time, but the feeling
now Is that the administration will
wage losing fight on this particular
section of the existing law unless
public opinion really does become
aroused when the 1924 returns are
made available.
Copyright 1929
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