Evening star., 1941-07-26
Tax Bill Will Meet
SO Pct. Of Needs,
Report 10 House Says
Enactment Of 317-BiIlion
Measure Formally
Recommended
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The House Ways and Means Com
mittee formally recommended en-
actment of the SO 529 100000 tax bill
today and estimated that the pro-
posed levies. coupled with those al
ready in effect, would meet about so
per cent of the Governments antic-
ipated expenditures for the 1912 ifs
cal year. The balance would be met
by borrowing.
During the World War" the
committee report said, only one
third of the expenditures we're met
by taxes and two-thirds by bor-
rowing
/ Conceding that the measure would
impose an unprecedented tax burden
on the American people. chiefly 10
help finance the defense program
/ the committee said. however, that
there was ''increas sing evidence that
this burden will be borne cheerfully
in the light of the overwhelming i'm
portance of national defense to the
continued freedom and security of
the United States"
1T is believed that the risk to life
and property from an inadequate
comparison would make an even
heavier burden attractive by COM
parison," the committee added. The
report was signed by the Democratic
members.
NOn-Defense Spending Assailed.
The 10 Republican members of the
committee issued report on the
bill yesterday in which they said
/ they had no alternative but to sup
port the general objective" of the
bill. However. they assailed the
non defense spending policy of the
administration and called on PreSi-
dent Roosevelt to take personal
charge of efforts to effect economies
The majority said that while it
had kept in mind the need for apply
ing "a needed restraint on imitation
ary tendencies" resulting from the
defense spending program. the prin-
cipal has been the procurement of
revenue"
The committee took issue with
those who have contended that the
bills provision requiring married
persons to file joint returns would
encourage divorce.
1T is not believed that the Joint
return will result in any increase
in the divorce rate in the United
States, or adversely. affect the
morals of American families" the
| committee said "A compulsory joint
return in Great Britain has been
required since 1914, and their divorce
rate is not as high as in the United
States"
Filing separate returns is per-
mltted under the existing law, and
the committee recommended that
this be prohibited to prevent married
persons from evading the higher sur
taxes proposed in the bill.
Joint Return Criticized.
Three Democratic and two Re
publican members of the committee
criticized the joint return provision
IN supplementary report. saying
that 1T was not only unSound but
| definitely unconstitutional"
The effect of the mandatory Joint
returns provision, y they said, is to
merge, for taxation purposes, the
income of both spouses, so that the
old common-law rule is in effect
revived, and the wife is no longer
recognized as a separate person
The signers were Representatives
Buck, Democrat, of California
West, Democrat, of Texas; Hill
Democrat. of Washington: jenkins,
Republican, of Ohio, and Gearhart
Republican, of California.
The Republican members of the
committee expressed their criticism
in minority report distributed BY
the Republican National Committee
Asserting it was obvious that g
substantial increase in the tax bur.
den was imperative to finance the
defense program and protect the
credit of the Nation. the committee
said the taxpayers must be pain
fully aware" that the ability of the
Government to finance the defense
| (See TAXES. Page AL