Evening star., 1938-12-28
Experts Rush
Work on D. T..
Tax Report
Nichols Seeks to Quit
Post on House
District Committee
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

Dy SlA1HAAC Is SAkx4NNs
Tax experts Of the Joint Con-
gressional Committee on Internal
Revenue Taxation, worked feverishly
today on report embodying a pro-
posed new tax structure for the
District, hoping to have it completed
by the end of the week for consid-
Grafton of the House and Senate Dis
trict Committees soon after Congress
meets next week
The report, it is understood, will
contain virtually all the tax-raising
plans previously approved by the
Commissioners Advisory Committee
on Taxation. The heart of the new
program Is expected to be a COM
bination income tax on salaries in
excess of $4,000 year, and a 2 per
cent sales tax that will exempt food
and medicine.
Meantime, Representative Jack
Nichols Democrat, of Oklahoma, who
has helped write the last two stop
gap" revenue-raising bills for the
District, disclosed his desire to re"
sign from the House District Com
mittee if he can get an assignment
on the more important Rules Com
mittee.
Says Work Unappreciated.
There are many disadvantages to
serving on the District Committee"
he declared. Il don't know of any
committee where the work of a
House member is less appreciated
than on the District Committee. The
Rules Committee is an exclusive
committee and that is the COM
mittee on which I would like to
serve in the new Congress. Per-
haps, some arrangement might be
made for me to continue my service
on the District Committee if I sue
ceed in getting an assignment on
the Rules Committee.
Since becoming a member Of the
District Committee four years ago,
Representative. Nichols has taken
an active part in framing District
legislation. At the last session of
Congress, he served as chairman
of special subcommittee which
handled the current revenue act.
The combination income sales tax
which the Joint Congressional Com
mittee on Internal Revenue Taxa
ton is preparing is estimated rough
ly to yield about 100000 year
in additional revenue. It's adop-
ton, however, would be coupled with
repeal of the present tax on intan-
gible personal property, which is
now producing about 100000 a
year in revenue. AS the unpopular
business privilege tax on gross re-
ceipts is destined to die at the close
Of the current fiscal year June 30,
resulting in loss Of about 50 900 900
more in tax revenue, the net gain
from the proposed new combination
tax would amount to about 50 900 900
a year. A corporation income tax
and continuation Of the present
$1.75 tax on real and personal prop
erty, 1t is believed. will yield suffi-
cient additional revenue to keep
the District budget in balance, de-
spite the s5,000,000 loss from the
two other sources.
Ceiling of S175.
In fact, the tax experts have
planned to write into the proposed
new revenue bill provision placing
a SITS ceiling on the real estate tax,
and floor of $l.5O-a plan that
will make it elastic so the Com
missioners can raise or lower the
rate between these two points to
meet budgetary conditions. The
$1.75 levy, however, is expected to
be written into the bill for the COM
ing fiscal year because of the un-
certainty of the actual revenue that
may be derived from the dual tax
plan or whatever scheme is adopted
by Congress to keep the municipal
government out of the red.
Representative Nichols, inciden-
tally, reiterated his former views as
to permanent District tax struc-
ture, by declaring the tax base should
be as broad as possible, so it would
not be burdensome to any particu-
| lar groups.
The ideal tax system, in my
opinion, is one that would tap so
different sources of revenue, If pos
sible," he declared THE rates then
would be low and the tax burden
would be more equitably spread out
than under any plan that contem-
plates tapping only a few tax
| sources"