Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1935-04-24

' Nye Inquiry have come t
; light. 1t is seekin
the honor of drafting legislatio
which will give it a historical stand
ing as the group of men who frs
moved to remove the incentive o
: profit as provocative of war. Il
presenting it's proposal to this end
however, the committee is regarde,
as having started something
which it is unlikely can be finished
by the group of individual senators
making up that committee.
When the investigating resolu
tion was adopted by the senate. its
sponsors made much fuss about con
ditiOns in the munitions industry
There were many speeches made by
Senator Nye (Rep., N. d. concern.
ing the wickedneSs of munitions
manufacturers, and in the course OF
those speeches, which were made
in score of different communities,
Senator Nye announced conclusions
which apparently have not been
supported by evidence adduced by
the committee Investigators. Fur
ther, the senator announced plans
to disclose alleged corruption among
the munitions manufacturers and
stated definitely that the purpose
of the inquiry was to provide the
basis for laws which would control
them.
Now, after seven months, we look
back on the committees record and
find that it has played a game of
hOp-skip-and-jump from one subject
to another and, l believe, the con-
SenSuS is that little of real value
either to the senate or as public in
formation has been developed.
Since there was the minimum of
publicity resulting from the inquiry
into munitions plants, shipbuilding
yards and the aircraft industry, the
committee has taken another tack.
Selling upon President ROosevelt's
phrase that profits must be taken
out of war, Senator Nye and his
colleagues turned their so-called
experts" loose on the track of
those Elusive profits. The result is
a piece Of proposed legislation that
goes beyond anything ever offered
before in the way of tax legislation.
OF course, it is entirely likely that
nothing at all will come of the Nye
bill insofar as improvement of our
taxation methods is concerned. But
its radical and altogether unwork-
able character is looked upon as |
necessitating a frank examination |
of it's provisions.
Because the committee started !
out to investigate the munitions in
duStry and Notwithstanding the fact |
that since it has wandered all over
the surface of the earth with it's
inquiry there is widespread be-
lief. that its tax bill will apply only
to the munitions industry during
war time. Such is not the case. 1t
goes far beyond the munitions in
dustry and, indeed, it affects every
and every individual
with an income of $1,000 or more.
Probably the Flynn-Nye tax pro-
DOsal won't get anywhere at all.
Certainly it will
Flynn-Nye not be enacted in
Tax Bill this session of
congress. Never
heless, when senate committee
seriously introduces a bill that
would limit income Of a corporation
o 3 per cent of it's peace-time capi-
government would
AXE the rest by taxation-it is re-
'arded by many as time to call a
alt. 1t ought to be added here
hat obviously the country is faced
'ith the highest taxes it has ever
nown in consequence of the tre-
1endOus spending that has been
Ding on during the last two years ,
nd which is to be continued. These
1xes are due to come along within ,
mother year or two. !
| referred above to the 3 per cent I
nit on incomes of corporations. t
his is brought about through a tax ,
80 per cent on the first 6 per I
'nt of earnings of every corpora {
on. Above the 6 per cent earn S
lgs it is proposed in the Flynn-Nye T
Ill to take 100 per cent of the |
'tal. +
Tucked away in one section of t
le bill is language that is ordina- t
ly referred to as "jOker." 1t rep
esents the first attempt by con-
'ess, rather by the sponsors of this i
'gislation, to circumvent exemp- n
on of government securities from h
xation. The federal, state, munic- n
al, county and other governmental r
have the power to is +,
lie bonds and other securities free y
ON taxation. This makes such Sc "
lrities attractive. For quite a q
hile there has been agitation to d
away with this tax exemption n
'ivilege. Nobody has found way, n
'wever, to get legislative bodies to d
lact the. necessary provisions into @
W. SO, we have something like Fl
'ty billions of dollars in securities h
this type outstanding. If this
come were taxable. of course, it >,