Evening star., 1932-03-11
FARMERS COMBINE
IN SALES TAX FIGHT
Measure Sponsored by House
Committee Runs Into Stone
Wall of Opposition.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
On the theory it will add S25 to the
tax bill Of every farmer in the United
States, the new revenue measure spon-
sored by the House Ways and Means
Committee has run into stone wall Of
opposition from organized agriculture.
The American Farm Bureau Fedora
tionIG the National Grange and the
Farmers Union called attention to their
harmony program entered into at the
behest Of Congress which specifically
set forth unalterable determination to
defeat any attempt at Federal sales
tax
Leaders sent out notice Of threefold
preparation 10 meet the bill on the
floor of the House. in the Senate FL
nance Committee, on the Senate floor
and in the joint House and Senate
conference.
Veto Petition Planned.
There was indication that If the bill
were not defeated or SO amended as
virtually to free the farmer of the effect
of a sales tax the President would be
petitioned in the name of 100000
rural residents TO veto 1t.
Figuring the farm population at one
fourth of the country's total and the
farmers family equal to the city mans
as a consuming unit, 1t would follow
that agriculture must produce $780,
900 900 of the 5000 100000 expected to
be raised by sales tax. That, if shared
equally by the Nations 10000 900 farms,
would amount to $25 to the individual
farmer.
!. National representatives describe such
o situation as "intolerable" in the face
of declining farm values and revenue
and an already soaring property tax.
J. The 1880 farm census shows the aver
age value Of land and buildings dropped
from S10,284 per farm in 1920 to 1854
in 1880, and from $69.39 an acre to
$48.52.
Downward Trend Cited.
The long downward trend which
forced the total farm income from about
S13,000,e00 10000 in 1929 to less than
81 900 000, 900 in 1881 is estimated to
have cost American farmers total Of
$50 900 100000 in the last few years.
Recent indices of farm prices indicate
dollars worth of farm commodities
now will purchase only about 81 cents
worth of industrial commodities.
A manufacturers sales tax, it Is ar
gued, would further deflate the farm
dollar, since it would hike the price Of
things agriculture buys and lower the
price of things it sells.
They are especially aroused by the
proposed sales tax on electrical energy,
gasoline, lubricating oil, telephone serv-
ice, radios, automobiles, trucks and
tractors.
There are almost 100000 farm homes
equipped with electricity. Last year
they used 1,779.94T, 600 kilowatt hours,
or three times the amount sold for rail
way electrification. HE
3 Consumption Of gasoline and oil per
farm family is estimated relatively
higher than that Of the urban family.
Gas Tax Additional.
In many instances a Federal gas tax
would be collected in addition to a
State tax and Federal tax on auto
mobiles and trucks would be collected
in addition to license and property
taxes.
The extent to which the farmer uses
the truck may be seen in estimates that
5000, 900 tons of live stock rode to mar
ket by the gasoline route in 1881.
: Per capita taxation in this country is
estimated by the National Grange at
S60.58. The average net farm income
IN 1881 was less than $500. To add s25
to each farmers tax bill, the grange
says, would increase the burden he al
ready carries as a result Of 266 per
cent increase in his general property
tax since the war. +.