The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-03-04
WILL BALANCE
BUDGET With
TAX ON SALES
That Is General Belief Of
Leaders at Raleigh
Among Informed
The Times. News Bureau
Si- Waiter Hotel

RALEIGH, March l.-This gen
eral assembly is going to balance
the budget before it adjoulnS.
1t must balance the budget in
order to preserve the credit Of
the state and save it from bank
ruptcy. It is also going to pro-
vide at least for a siN-monthS
school term, since the constitu-
ton requires at least that much.
It is likewise going to keep the
State university and other, edHl
cational institutions open, as WclN
as the state hospitals and essen
tial state departments. 1t is also
going to provide enough revenue
to keep the principal and inter
est payments on the states
bonded Indebtedness.
These facts are evident from
the action taken by the joint
appropriations committees in
tentatively approving a general
fund budget Of approximately
$25, 100000 a year--Or to be cX-
iact, of $24,728,77O for 1932-3I
and of $25,326,105 for 1934-35.
After nearly eight weeks of con-
slant study and investigation,
the members of the two apprO-
priations committees have decid-
ed that these are the minimum
requirements for the operation
Of the state government for the
next two years.
1t is also evident to q major
ity of the members of the gen
eraI assembly that in order to
provide revenue for a general
fund budget Of $25,000,000 d
year that a sales tax of some
sort will have to be adopted and
will be adopted before the gen
eral assembly adjourns. True, a
sales tax of any sort is personal
ly unpopular with most Of the
members of both houses. But
they realize that under their
oaths Of office as members of
the general assembly they must
put the welfare Of the state first
and enact revenue bill that
will balance the budget. They
also know that the reason the
state now has q deficit of S12,-
100000 which they must now re-
fund, but which they cannot re-
fund until the budget is balanc-
ed, has resulted because the
1881 general assembly did not
balance the budget.
There are a good many mam-
bers Of both houses right now
who think they will not vote for
any form Of sales tax and who
still are suffering from the illu-
sion that the budget can be bal
anced without sales tax"
member Of the house said yester-
day in discussing the situation.
at may take these members two
weeks. Or four weeks or eight
weeks to realize that sales tax
will have to be imposed. But
sooner or later most Of them will
vote for it. For if Il sales tax is
not adopted the state will not be
able to operate even siX-months
school term and will be forced
to close up the State university,
its hospitals and departments
and probably even default on
its debts. But the general as
sembly is not going TO permit
that"
One of the best indications Of
how the general assembly is
eventually going to vote on the
sales tax question is found in
the vote here Wednesday on the
Scarborough resolution for the
retention of the Is cents prop
erty tax, which the house killed
by a vote of 80 to Z. For in
spite of the fact that the mem
bers were warned by speaker
after speaker that if they voted
to kill this resolution and Thus
remove the Is cents tax they
would have to vote later for q
sales tax, only seven members
voted for the resolution. some
of those who voted against Ihe
resolution really think now that