Evening star., 1926-09-23
TAX GAIN BOOSTS
SURPLUS ESTIMATE
Mellon Announces Receipts
viii Give Treasury Margin
of Over s1s5, 600, 900.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Increasing tax receipts flooding
into the Treasury impelled Secretary
Mellon today to boost his original
estimate of s185,o00,0o0 surplus for
this fiscal year.
He was unwilling to predict what
the eventual surplus might be, how
ever, and maintained it was too early
to talk of tax reduction,
..The administration is as anxious
as others to cut taxes the lowest safe
liinot." said Mr. Mellon. but we
have got to look to future years. We
are enjoying tax returns now on un-
precedented prosperity, and any
change In this would wipe out the
anticipated margin.
Holds Oldfield Plan Impossible.
He described as impossible the re-
cent proposal of Chairman Oldfield OF
the Democratic congressional cam
paign committee that the surplus OF
S37O 900 900 of last year be added to
the probable surplus for this fiscal
year. and a total cut of approx
mately $500, ,000, 900 in taxes be made.
This would cut the annual Govern
ment revenue below it's regular needs,
the Secretary said. Receipts and ex-
penditures must be balanced annually,
he added, and the surpluses or Two
wears could not be added to make
a permanent annual reduction. Fur
thermore, he pointed out, that the
1910 900 900 surplus Of last fiscal year
had all been applied toward reduction
of the public debt.
The Treasury predicted today that
r3x14c fnF
would total $440, ,00O, 900 or $4,000, 900
more than previously estimated. This
will bring the total of income tax col
lections for this quarter to more than
| $500, 900 900, or almost $1Oo,oOo,ooo
above a year ago.
This will be partly offset, however,
bv a drop of about $80,000,000 this
Quarter in miscellaneous tax receipts
under the new law. Altogether the
| Treasury believes $200,000,00o less Will
be collected this year than last year
| from the miscellaneous taxes.
Customs receipts since July | OF this
wear already are $10,000,00O above the
| collections a year ago.
Attacking the Coolidge administra-
| ton because of it's present opposition
to further tax reduction, Representa-
tive William A. O1dfield, chairman of
the Democratic congressional cam
paign committee, in a statement to-
day declared:
THE election of Democratic
Congress in November will be man
date to the Government for another
tax cut that not even the Coolidge
administration can afford to ignore. '
Charges Political Motive.
Discussing the opposition of Presi-
dent Coolidge and Secretary Mellon
ito any further early reduction in
| taxes" Mr. Oldfield said.
Secretary Mellon and his chief,
| President Coolidge, based their sup
port of the last tax reduction measure
on the fact that the Treasury would
! have a surplus They estimated
| cut of about $500, 900 900 could be
/ made in taxes.
/ The Democrats in Congress con-
/ tended the state of the Treasury
made 1t possible to reduce the tax
burden by about $500 900. and
proposed increasing the amount of
| the reduction by about $t65 100000.
| The administration opposed any in
| crease above $500 ,000. 900 asserting
| it would create a deficit. However.
! the Democrats succeeded in forcing
| the tax cut up to about $365,000 900,
| and now it develops that instead
of a deficit which the administration
f1nanciers professed to fear, there re-
mains for the fiscal year 1925 ~ sur
plus OF approximately 1877 7,00o, 900.
and for the year 1927 there will be
a surplus of S1S5, 100000, and pos
sibly more, or a total Of more than
$500. 900. 900.
How the Secretary. favoring the
last tax reduction on the ground
that the Treasury would have a sur
plus of s300,000,000. can now oppose
any further reduction, when the
Treasury will have surplus of near
ly double that sum, can be explained
In no other way than that he and
his chief wish to defer any further
relief to the taxpayers until the eve
of the 1928 presidential campaign
SO they can claim credit Tor 1t for
the administration.