Evening star., 1943-03-04
Half q Job

ican taxpayers expect-or desire-at
the hands of the Ways and Means
Committee and Congress. Yet that is
the contribution to date of the COM
mittee in which tax plans originate.
A subcommittee, much too late, has
brought forth plan to withhold tax
money at the source. But it continues
to balk at the next and most impor-
tant step. It is unwilling to act now
on a method of transition from the
old "pay-it-later" income tax pro-
gram to the new 'pay-as-you-go."
The taxpayers have known for
weeks that a withholding program
was to be written into law. What
they have not known-and what they
cannot know until Congress and its
committees tell them lis whether
they are to be compelled to pay two
years taxes In one. That is what
they wish to know, and soon.
The Ruml plan was advanced last
summer. It's purpose was quite clear.
It proposed that taxes paid in 1943
should be paid on 1943 income, not on
the income received in 1912. The
probabilities are that the American
income in 1943 will be larger than in
1912. The Government, therefore,
stood to lose nothing. A phrase was
coined, however-the taxes on 1912
income were to be forgiven" It
sent the administration leaders into
a tailspin. It sounded, to them, like
pennies from heaven for the rich.
It was too much. A proposal has
since been advanced under which
income taxes paid in 194S are to be
based on which income is the higher,
1912 or 1943. That proposal should
satisfy the most skeptical, although
so far it has not.
The subcommittee withholding
tax program is sensible enough. It
does not set up new tax rates. It
merely taxes money at the source at
the time it becomes income. It does
for the taxpayer what he himself
might do, II he put by 20 per cent Of
each pay envelope to be used to pay.
taxes. This amount withheld will
not in many cases be enough to pay
the whole tax under existing rates.
The balance is to be paid at the
conclusion OF the year, after due
allowance has been made for per-
missible deductions. It is, of course,
the final step in putting the tax
payers on pay-as-you-go basis.
Under the present plan Of the
committee, the taxpayers are to pay
on March Is and again on June IS,
their taxes on 1912 income, as re-
quired by law. Then, on July l, the
withholding Of 20 per cent Of all
pay is to begin. What is to hap
pen In regard to the September Is
and December Is income tax pay
ments, due on 1912 income, is left by
the committee to be settled by Con-
gress sometime later.
Members of Congress know-as
does the general public-that If the
entire payment on the 1912 income
Is to be made and the wage-earners
and salaried men OF the country are
to be compelled at the same time to
turn over to the Government 20 per
cent of their weekly or monthly pay,
1t will work great hardship. Savings,
life insurance and other assets will
vanish, or there will be defaults in
taxpaying. Neither will be good for
the American people or for the
Government.
Advocates of the Ruml plan have
not given up hope. They intend to
make fight for it, both in the House
and in the Senate. Unless something
better can be devised, it should win.
But most certainly the American
people should be permitted to know
with as little delay as possible what
their tax burden is to he