The Indianapolis times., 1932-08-10
HOUSE FAILS
TO PASS TAX
LIMIT REPEAL
First Attempt to Kill $3.50
Measure Is Stopped
Short.
WHITE HITS ASSEMBLY
Legislature Does Not Know
Where 1t Stands, He
Says on Floor.

Charges that the $3.50 tax limit
bill is a Legislative monstrosity'
were hurled on the floor of the
house of representatives today as
the majority failed in an attempt
to lift the senate from a political
hole" by repeating the measure.
BY a vote of AZ to As the house
halted passage of the amended SEN
ate bill which virtually would have
nullified the tax limit law, but ave-
nues we're opened for later recon-
Sideration of the repeater measure.
At the same time efforts ware
being made in the senate to capital
ize on the panic which marks the
closing days of the legislature by
passing a retail sales tax law
which would touch the purse of
every taxpayer in the state.
White Assails Assembly
Representative E. Curtis White
.Dem0, Indianapolis took the floor
with a vicious condemnation of ac-
lEklS1dbuIE.
In the closing days of this ses-
sion we have ourselves in a mess, and
not one of us knows where we are.
One day we pass a law and then
the next day we pass another law
to repeal the first" he said.
White charged the assembly with
failing to follow the seventeen-p point
program of the citizens tax COM
mittee, agreed on before the session
began.
don't know where we are and
I'm sure no other member of this
house does" he declared.
Branded as Conspiracy
During the debate, Representative
Herbert Evans (Rep), of Newcastle,
charged that the $150 tax limit law
was passed as result of a Legislative
conspiracy"
Representative william Babcock
(Rep0 of Rensselaer, declared the
law has put the Governor in a
hole" and that the legislature
Ought to rectify an honest mis-
take"
Representative Howard S. Grimm
CRep), Auburn, charged the Dem
ocratic majority with unfair tao
tics" in attempting to rush
through" the repeater measure
without permitting members to
study amendments to the repeater
bill.
There's something behind all
this" Grimm declared.
Burden on Poor
A special senate committee was
said to look with favor on the
Hoffman retail tax bill, which
previously failed to pass. It
levies one-half of per cent tax
on gross retail sales by transform
ing the chain store tax into a sales
tax measure.
Critics of the proposed tax bill,
fostered by Senator J. Clyde Hoff-
man ,(Rep), Indianapolis, charged
that it entirely ignores a funda-
mental principle of taxation-ability
to pay.
Retention of the 81 so property tax
law and passage of a retail sales tax
merely means that the poor and
propertyless will pay the $5,OO0,O0O
state deficit, created for benefit of
the landowners" they declared
That the senate will try to put
across the Hoffman bill was indi-
Gated when the author of the bill
was made a member of the special
committee.
Labor Opposes Bill
@ Other members of the committee
are Senators Alonzo H. Lindley, Re-
publican, and j. Francis Lochard
and Anderson Ketchum, Democrats
Retail merchants have deluged
the senators with pleas against its
passage, on the ground that bust
ness is bad enough without saddling
additional taxes on it.
Labor is unanimous in opposition
to the measure.
Unless Governor Harry G. Leslie
vetoeS the state highway fund
diversion bills, it appears that this
is at least one major accomplish
znent of the session.
AS revamped to meet his objec-
tionS, Attorney-Ge James M.
Ogden has approved of the bills and
they await the Governors signature.