Evening star., 1932-05-03
WORK ON TAX BILL
NEARS COMPLETION
Senate Committee Begins
Modification of Levy
on Bond Sales.
BY the Associated raesa

By the Associated mesa
Modification of the controversial
stock and bond sales tax voted by the
House was undertaken today In the
Senate Finance Committee.
The end of the committees work on
the billion dollar revenue measure was
near. with leaders confident it would
be done tomorrow night.
Two alternatives to the one-fourth
Of per cent tax imposed by the House,
and vigorously protested by the stock
exchange, are perding. One is the ad-
ministration proposal for fat 4 cents
a share tax. The other is suggestion
by Senator Couzens Republican, of
Michigan), for a graduated levy apply
ing according to the value Of the stock.
Views of Postmaster General Brown
also were sought today on the House
increase of l cent in postal rates. Ap-
proval of this provision was in prospect.
Committee Speeds Up Work.
The committee Is working FIVE hours
day In a determined effort to get
the vital bill to the Senate before the
end Of the week and in a determination
to raise the more than billion dollars
necessary to balance the 1888 budget.
The tariff now is due for another
round before the bill gets out of COM
mittee. Senator Jones, Republican,
Washington, intends to offer an amend
ment increasing the rate on lumber
imports. This is expected to revive
the whole dispute, with the oil, coal and
copper advocates coming back into
action. The committee added gasoline
to the 8 per cent tax applying to oil
transported by pipe line late yesterday.
1t retained the per cent tax on tie
vote.
Lessees, rather than lessons, were sub
1ected by the committee to the 10 per
cent tax on safety deposit boxes voted
by the House. The time limit for this
tax of July /. 1884, also was removed
Import statistics on rubber. coffee, tea
and cocoa beans were studied by the
Senate Finance Committee for sources
OF new revenues in completing the tax
measure
The committee rejected a motion to
eliminate the fur tax and another to
restore the levy on pari-mutuel race
tickets.
Senator Bingham, Republican, Con-
4
on pari-mutuel tickets and an elimina-
tion of the admissions duty for race
tracks. He lost The committee yes
terday cut out the 10 per cent pari-
mutuel tax and made the admissions
tax 25 per cent for race tracks instead
Of the regular 10 per cent.
The import levies on rubber, coffee,
tea and cocoa will be considered after
the committee has finished the bill and
finds out how much more revenue must
be raised. Rates ranging from l to
cents a pound are in prospect on these.
It was estimated on the basis Of fig
ures submitted by the Commerce De-
partment that a 5-cents-a-pound tax
on rubber would net about $56000,0 900.
The committee also understood that the
industry in this country did not serious
ly object. No rubber is grown here.
Revenue Need Emphasized.
Need for revenue was emphasized to-
day as the Treasury statement showed
the deficit at the end of the first 10
months Of this fiscal year to stand at
81. 1874 000, 900.
Meanwhile hopes for great economies
to help the revenue bill balance the
1888 budget were fading before the
ruinous attack by the House upon the
omnibus economy measure.
Postmaster General Heard.
A decision on postal rate increases
was put over for the later session after
the committe examined Postmaster
General Brown.
The Postmaster General estimated
the 1-cent increase in first class postage
would yield about S134, 100000. He
voiced no opposition to the boost in
this rate
Asked about second-class postage in
creases, Brown estimated that a return
to the 1925 schedule would yield 50, ,500,-
900 additional.
The 1925 schedule provided rates Of
Q cents on the first and second zones,
8 cents on the third, 4 cents on the
fourth, fifth and sixth zones. and 8
cents on the seventh and eighth zones.
The committee accepted the House
provision on depletion allowances for
oil and gas wells but removed metal
and sulphur mines to another para
graph for separate treatment. Sulphur
mines were voted % per cent deple-
tion allowance and metal mines Is per
cent