Evening star., 1926-09-12
DEMOCRATSPLA
FURTHER TAX CUTS
Senator Simmons Hints That
Recent Reduction Was
Political Move.

The opening gun in Il Democratic
movement to bring about further tax
reductions at the coming session or
Congress was sounded by Senator Sim
mons of North Carolina. ranking mi
nority member of the Senate finance
committee, in a statement issued last
night through the Democratic ma
tfonal committee.
Senator Simmons estimates that at
the end of the current fiscal year there
will be a total surplus available Of
1852. 900 900. He said:
IF the overburdened taxpayers
were entitled to q reduction at the last
session Of Congress because of an es-
timated surplus Of only about $780,,
O00. 600, why. with surplus in the
Treasury nearly twice rs great, are
they not entitled to another reduction
at the coming session Of the Con
gress?"
Hints At Political Motive.
The Senator from North Carolina
asserts in his statement that certain
circumstances connected With The last
reduction aroused suspicion that the
administration. supposedly for polit-
ical reasons, had deliberately planned
two separate reductions. Il small one
for use in the bi-elact:on campaign
this year and a bigger one to become
effective immediately preceding the
presidential campaign and election Of
1928"
Senator Simmons estimate Of to-
tai surplus of 1852 000 ,0G0 by the end
of the fiscal year is made up OF S317,-
760.S17 remaining at the close Of the
last fiscal year and an estimate, he
says, by the Treasury Department of
approximately $1S5 000.000 of surplus
revenue for the fiscal year 1927.
Referring briefly to the question OF
iiquidating the nations; war debt
amounting to about $4,000 ,000. 900
Senator Simmons opposed the Sugges'
ton that it be taken care Of in 90
years. He said present appropria.
tions toward the sinking fund would
liquidate the debt in about 81 years
which he favored in preference to the
20-year plan.
Sums Up Stand.
Summing up his position. both as
to tax reduction and liquidation of the
debt, Senator Simmons said:
Congress, and not the Treasury
Department. is vested with authority
of determining and prescribing the
time in which the public debt shall
be liquidated and discharged. Should
Congress see fit to exercise this au
thOrlty and fix the time for such
liquidation, as suggested, at 81 years
the full amount thereafter receivable
from our foreign debtors, as herein.
before indicated. could be used for
current expenditure and for further
tax reductions.
At the last session of Congress the
Democratic minority insisted that the
present generation had been heavily
taxed, indeed taxed to an amount
nearly equal to our present war in.
debtedness, for the purpose Of car
rying on the war and since for In
terest and amortization charges. and
that it was but just that the next
generation should bear a reasonable
part Of this war burden, not only as a
matter of fairness, but because, as the
wealth of the country increases, the
burden of carrying the debt will pro-
portionately diminish.
In view Of all these facts and cir
cumstances, when Congress meets in
December the minority will demand
not only sweeping tax reduction,
but that as we have given our foreign
debtors 81 years In which to repay
the money we loaned them, we give
the taxpayers of this country at least
half that time in which to licuidatc
the Indebtedness we incurred in Dor
rowing the money we laoned them"