Evening star., 1942-06-06
Sales Tax Held
Necessity by
House Group
Revenue Bill Fromers
Believe Other Levies
Inadequate to Needs

by tne Associated Fress.
The House Ways and Means
Committee was reported today to-
have put the administration on
notice formally that its tax goal
of S8,700,0O0,000 could not be
achieved without a sales tax.
Informed sources said that Chair
man Doughton and other high
ranking committeeman had told
Secretary of the Treasury Morgen-
thau that they could not write that
big bill without overriding Mr..
Morgenthau's opposition to some
form of consumption tax.
Faced with that attitude by the
committee. the Treasury head PROM
ised to make a written statement on
the situation soon.
Excise Tax Unconsidered.
The committee thus far has pro-
posed to raise only about S. ,500,00o,-
900, but has not started considera-
ton of Treasury recommendations
that another 81 900 1000 be raised
by increased excise taxes-the last
big item in Secretary Morgenthau's
March 3 suggestions.
Although the committee has been
working more than three months,
many members predicted that it
would be still another month before
a bill is presented to the House.
When passed there, it will face per-
haps six weeks of study in the Sem
ate.
Thus. it might go to President
Roosevelt for signature by Septem-
ber !, but some members said there
might be a repetition of the 1918
situation, when Congress waited
until the turn of a new year before
completing its labors.
Higher Income Levies Sure.
In any event, much higher taxes
for both individuals and corpora
tions seemed assured, primarily be-
cause of the Governments need for
revenue. The Ways and Means
Committee has boosted corporation
taxes by s2,5OO,OOO,000, primarily by
raising surtaxes slightly and boost
ing the excess profits rate from a
graduated scale with a so per cent
top to a fat "a per cent for all.
The individual normal tax has
been raised from 4 to per cent
and personal exemptions have been
lowered from $500 TO $1,000 for
married persons and from $3.50 to
$500 for single persons.
All the committee decisions have
been tentative and Representative
Doughton said that when we get
all through and get the whole pic
ture" of the new bill several changes
might be made,
Alternatives Up Next Week.
The prospects we're that the COM
mittee would come to grips next
week with the alternatives of sales
taxes or excise taxes.
Representative Robertson, Demo-
crate, of Virginia, sales tax advo-
cate. said in a statement that the
committee probably could not
achieve the Treasury's excise tax
goal because of curtailed use Of
gasoline, tires and the like.
He concluded a review of the COM
mittee's dilemma with this state
ment:
My definite conclusion, there
fore, is that in the midst of the
most terrible war of all history our
tax program must be on the basis
of equality of sacrifice, which, Of
necessity, will include some proper
form of general consumer tax.
And if it takes our committee
a few extra weeks to work out that
problem, we can at least say when
we present the bill to the House,
it is not too little even though it
may be too late to head of the
threatened price imitation"
He was referring to Secretary
Morgenthau's expressed hope in
radio speech Wednesday night that
the committees bill would not be
too little or too late"