Evening star., 1941-09-04
By ], A. O'LEARY.

Lowering of the personal in
come exemptions to $500 for
married couples and to $3.50 for
single persons was approved by
the Senate today, as a major
feature of the S3,679, 100000 tax
bill.
A plea by Senator La Toilette,
Progressive, of Wisconsin to keep
the present exemptions of $4,000
and $500 was rejected by roll call
vote of 43 to %.
Joining in Senator La Follette's
unsuccessful appeal, Senator Clark,
Democrat, Of Missouri said he was
unwilling ito tax the poor devil who
was barely able to keep body and
soul together until those who are
making enormous profits out Of
huge Government expenditures are
brought into line
The Senate later defeated the pro-
posed increase to is per cent IN
theater admission taxes, marking
the first departure from Finance
Committee recommendations since
the S3,679 100000 revenue bill was
taken up yesterday.
Restores House Provision.
BY rejecting the committee pro-
posal, the Senate went back to the
! House rate of 10 per cent on admis-
/ sions, with an exemption Of 8 cents.
The tax will be / cent on a 10 cent
ticket, and will increase l cent for
each 10 cents or fraction thereof.
The Senate proposal would have
abolished the exemption. The tax
would have been the same on 10 and
Is cent tickets. but 20-cent ticket
would have cents. Above so cents
the tax would have been Is per cent
of the price. With fractions OF more
than one-haf raised to another
cent.
The House rates will raise S60,000,-
900 which the defeated Senate pro-
posal would have raised to Sl05,-
100000 Under existing law the ad-
mission tax applies only to q cents
/ or more.
Senators Walsh, Democrat, Of
Massachusetts, and Taft, Republican
of Ohio joined in opposing the
higher Senate rates on admissions.
The lower income tax exemptions
| add S304,000,000 to the House bill,
most of which represents tax in
creases on those who already pay in
come taxes. It also requires nearly
! 100000 more citizens to file re-
turns for the first time, of whom
| 2.256, 900 will be liable to tax. Chair
man George of the Finance Commit
| tee said only S49000,000 will come
from new taxpayers and Of that
only S10,O0,OO0 will be from those
filing returns for the first time.
Compromise Rejected.
Just before the decisive roll call
the Senate turned down on a voice
vote the compromise proposal Of
Senator Adams, Democrat, of Colo
RADIO, to fix the married persons
exemption at S1,875.
Senator Adams deplored the
Finance Committees action in tax
ing $500 off the exemption of man
with a family and only $50 of the
$500 exemption of a single person.
Small wage earners will have diff
Guilty providing their families with
everyday necessities if they are
brought into the income tax paying
class, Senator La Toilette told the
Senate earlier as he began losing
fight against lowering of personal
exemptions.
He quoted statistics to show that
a family with S1,500 income uses
35 per cent, or $525, for food; 19
per cent, or S235, for housing; II
per cent, or S165, for household OPP
Grafton; 10 per cent. or $3.50, for
clothing; 6 per cent, Of $50. for med
ical care, and 19 per cent, or $285,
for education, recreation and all
other miscellaneous expenses.
Morgenthau'S Testimony Cited.
The Senator said Secretary Of the
Treasury Morgenthau testified that
Congress should not dip into these
low incomes unless and until 1t was
ready to correct existing inequitieS
in other parts of the tax structure.
The Wisconsin member asked the
Senate to remember also that the
list of special excise and sales taxes
has been growing steadily in recent
years and that their impact should
(See TAXES, Page 2-X0