Evening star., 1937-06-16

Further study OF the proposed bus
iness privilege tax portion Of the
omnibus District tax bill today
brought additional indications Of
probabilities of inequities to arise from
its operation If adopted in its present
hurriedly drafted form. even as hastily
revamped yesterday by the House Dis
trict Committee.
Questions continued to bob up as to
its effect, although the committee
yesterday voted to seek changes which
were intended to correct some OF the
more apparent and glaring of its in
equities.
Study indicated that only a care
full investigation Of its provisions,
checked against the experience Of
similar levies involved in other juris-
dictions, could give assurance that
its operation would not wreak unin-
tended harm on various classes Of
business or callings or individual tram
sactions within business or vocations.
Sales Tax in Disguise.
Some observers called the measure
neither fish nor fowl" since it
lies within the twilight zone between
sales tax and an income tax. But,
they added 1T bears some strong
characteristics Of red herring" since
1t Is sales tax in disguise and since
some members Of the House recently
'revolted' against the proposal for a
sales tax for the District as an
emergency or "stop-gap" tax plan.
These questions then are raised:
II this measure is not to be called
q sales tax" then shall it be called
a modified form of income" tax? And
II 1t is tax on the incomes" Of busi-
nesses and professions, should Con-
gress at the same time adopt for the
District another bill which frankly Is
called an income tax?
Back Of these questions lies the fact
that neither the House District Com
mittee, nor District officials who
drafted the bill almost overnight, at
the direction Of the House District
Tax Subcommittee, can give any ac-
curate estimates of how much revenue
the bill will produce.
$4,o0o,000 Difference.
There is a difference of as much as
$4,000,000 in the estimates. District
officials calculated the program would
bring in $3,000,000, but they have re-
peatedly said they have no foundations
for accurate predictions. The Board
OF Trade, after study of official re-
ports Of the Census Bureau on the
1885 census Of business and the 1885
census of manufacturing in the Dis
trict, declared last week the tax would
produce between se,oO0,00O and
$7,oo000o.
Should this bill be rushed through
the House tomorrow or the next day,
District taxpayers will have to pin
their hopes on changes which may be
made by the Senate. In fact, while
the House District Committee yester-
day was voting to seek certain correct
ing amendments to the bill, one men,
Der stated there were lot of things
in 1t which would have to be corrected
in the Senate.
One Of the new questions that came
tc light today was whether the bill
as now drawn makes provisions for de-
ductions from gross receipts" OF the
sale price Of goods once sold but later
returned to the dealer, who gives the
customer either credit or returns the
purchase price.
Certainly, 1t is said, it is not the
intention of the trainers Of the bill to
apply the proposed tax rate Of three
ffths Of per cent against the receipts
from q sale that does not stick. But
I scanning Of tha revamped hfl does
not ma therein &uy deAutts afe-