Evening star., 1935-08-17
ROOSEVELT ASKED
BY BUSINESS MEN
TO DELAY TAX BILL
Roper Council Appeals to
President Not to Take
HaSty Action.
SENSATIONAL REPORT
KEPT SECRET A WEEK
Budget Balancing Held Impos-
sible Because of Expenditures
for Unemployed.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The Roper council, composed OF
about 40 business leaders, has ap-
pealed to President Roosevelt to defer
the tax bill until the January session
of Congress, when a well-considered
taxation program should be adopted.
The report has been kept confiden-
tial for at least week. The under
standing is that only with the PreSi-
dents consent can it be made public
by the council.
In some respects, the document is
one of the most sensational that has
been filed by group of business lead
ers with Mr.. Roosevelt and it is
understood that its contents have
caused CONSERVATION in adminiStra-
ton circles generally.
Starting out with a broad state
ment that balanced budget is at
this time impossible because extra
ordinary expenditures are needed to
care for the unemployed, the Roper
council states that the price of a
balanced budget is too high to pay,
measured in effect on the economic
and social structure. Nevertheless,
1t is recommended that the budget
be gradually brought into balance by
a curtailment of expenses and by a
"well-conSidered" tax program, an
1ntegrated plan that should follow the
budget estimates for 1886, which have
not yet been revealed
For this reason, the Roper Council
insists that tax legislation be deferred
so that study can be made Of budget
needs. This, it remarks. should be
Of planning to which the administra-
ton has committed itself.
Pointing out that the House tax bill
the report was filed before the Sen
ate Finance Committee acted-bore
no relation to the budget message of
1885, the Roper Council argued that
the crying need of the hour is resto-
this cannot be achieved by clumsy tax
rates. The statement is made that
the revenues are growing larger and
expenses are less than forecast but
that this is the very time when there
should not be enacted any half baked
measure conceived in politics" and
damned through or else the country
will face disastrous results"
Bill Would Raise Small Amount.
The Roper Council says this is not
the time for tax legislation, especially
since the S275 100000 the House bill
is to raise would last only two weeks"
and would reduce the deficit "by only
one-sixteenth or, if the present ma
tional debt remains, it would yield
barely enough to retire it in 300 years.
I'VE believe" says the report. that
the primary purpose of tax bill is to
raise revenue. If and when a pro-
gram to divide the Nations wealth is
10 be considered, it should be in sep
arate measure so that the country
may know it is considering a wealth.
distribution measure. The House bill
Goes not honestly frame the issue"
What it would mean to the average
man is stressed by the Roper Council
when it says that it would mean only
few dollars year more if national
Income were equally divided. An ar
gument follows for the broadening of
the tax base and then a severe in
dictment of the effort made in the
present legislation to interfere with
the maintenance of adequate surpluSes
In business.
The proposed constitutional amend
ment to tax securities of Federal,
State and city governments now i'm
mune from taxation is approved by
the report and an Endorsement is
given to the idea OF Segregating in
heritance tax revenues for retirement
of public debt.
Excess Profits Tax Condemned.
But the excess profits tax is con-
demned as wasteful because it dis.
courages old ventures and confirms
monopolies"
The conclusion of the report is a
general defense of holding companies,
declaring they have played part in
the growth of the country and
should not be ruthlessly destroyed"
1t contends that holding companies
are essential for various businesses be-
CAUSE VI tue CoALlClllls oIdVc anu
foreign laws.
If the taxing power is to be invoked,
says the Roper Council, to change the
corporate structure of the country,
"let the issue be framed separately"
Members of the council are repre-
sented as displeased that the White
House did not make public the text
of the report. either last week or this
week, when the document might have
been of some avail. 1t has, on the
other hand, been pigeonholed by the
President and probably will stay there
officially till after the tax bill becomes
law. That has been the fate of all
Roper Council reports.
Copyright. 1880