Evening star., 1931-12-30
DELAY
NEW TAX PROGRAM
Wait End of House Commit.
tee Hearing-Garner Hits
Back at Mills.

Speaker Garner reiterated today that
the Democrats had not completed their
tax program and said they would not
until after the House Ways and Means
Committee had completed its hearings.
The Texan made the statement at a
conference with newspapermen after
he and Senator Harrison of Mississippi,
ranking Democrat on tie Senate
Finance Committee; Representative
Rainey of Illinois, Democratic House
leader, and Chairman Collier of the
Ways and Means Committee had con-
ferred for nearly two hours.
Commenting on the criticism of tax
proposals of Representative Rainey,
made last night by Ogden L. Mills,
Undersecretary of the Treasury Gar
ner said:
The trouble with Mills is that he
was talking through his hat. It's one
of his tricks to set up straw man
and then knock him down.
Whenever we get ready to present
the Democratic program we will let
the public know before we tell Mr..
Mills.
Says Mills Is Afraid.
THE trouble with Mr. Mills is that
he is afraid we'll get tax bill drafted
and he won't have chance to tell us
how to do 1t.
I'VE are not going to give out our
program until we have it complete"
-l.s - lNVNry -
individual tax views of Democratic
Congressman the Democratic pro-
gram"
AS Senator Harrison emerged from
the conference, he said that taxes and
tariffs would be the first matters to
be disposed of by the Senate House
Policy Committee of the Democrats.
Il can't tell you what the tariff
bill will be, but we have plan which
we think will meet with the approval
of the country" he said.
Rainey and Collier declined to dis
cuss the conference or the statement
Of Undersecretary Mills.
In a statement last night attacking
the program outlined by Rainey Mills
said there was little profit in Soaking
the rich" because the large incomes
are no longer there"
Rainey advocated repeal of the cap
ital stock gains and losses provision ot
the present law, levying a maximum
surtax of so per cent and making new
taxes effective on the current years in
comes. He opposed the lowering of ex-
emptions on small incomes.
Too Small, Says Mills.
Mills said that if the surtax maxi.
mum were raised to Rainey's figure Of
60 per cent it would bring in an add.
tional $l20,000 900 during the 1882 fis-
cal year, whereas the Treasury deficit
is estimated at S2,123,000, ,000
1T may be disappointing to realize
that there is so little profit in 'soakins
the rich but the truth of the matter
is that the large incomes are no longer
there and cannot, therefore, be made
20 produce the needed revenues" Mills
said The number of incomes Of $780,
900 and over fell from about $1,000 in
1928 to about $500 in 1880. There
will unquestionably be further subStan-
tial reduction in the calendar year
1881"
Mills said to put the matter bluntly
the Democrats planned to attempt tC
collect comparatively small amounts by
drastic increases in taxes on the So-called
4
| deficit but next years also through
borrowing, and to continue that course
He said apparently there would be
no serious effort made to arrest the
steady increase in the public debt dur
ing the next 18 months or to work
! toward the attainment of balanced
! budget in the near future.
Borrowing $4,000, 100000 to meet cur
rent expenditures without vigorous
! effort to increase taxes he termed in
defensible. He added the issuance ot
! securities on any such scale not only
would result in depreciation of all out
! standing Government securities with
a corresponding loss to investors. but
! in an unjustif1ed increased interest cost
which would have to be borne by the
Government for many years.
| The Undersecretary said it was not a
! question of taxing or not taxing the
rich, who, in any event, must bear
additional burdens. The question, he
! continued, was whether others in more
/ moderate circumstances are to be asked
to contribute their share of the cnst
! of Government based on their capacity
| to nay He said that the tax increase,
! proposed by the administration wert
/ not burdensome to any one.