Evening star., 1943-06-11

Executive May Not Send
Any Tax Message,
As Planned Earlier
President Roosevelt strongly
indicated today that he would
make no recommendations to
Congress concerning new tax
legislation, explaining that he
was not certain he would even
send a message on additional
revenues to Capitol Hill.
At a press conference earlier this
week the President had expressed
an intention to send a message to
Congress, and he told reporters to-
day that If he did, it would go into
the whole question of the need for
halting imitation, but he was not
certain yet what he would do.
He said it should be made per-
fectly clear that Congress, and by
that he means the House. has the
duty of initiating tax legislation.
In the meantime, the machinery
for collecting the 20 per cent with
holding tax-after exemptions-from
the wages and salaries of all income
taxpayers beginning next month was
set in motion today by the Treasury.
Immediately after Mr.. Roosevelt
signed the pay-as-you-go tax bill
late yesterday orders were flashed
to internal revenue collectors
throughout the country releasing
millions of forms and instruction
sheets for employers, who become
the Government collection agents.
The President said he believed the
inflationary gap pointed to in his
budget message last December, when
figure of $4,000, 900, 900 was quoted
has widened slightly.
The Presidents seeming deter
mination to keep out of the tax pic
ture came somewhat as a surprise
in view of the part being taken by
War Mobilization Director James F..
Byrnes, who held a conference on
taxes yesterday with fiscal leaders
of the Government after telling
neWsmen on Wednesday that he
proposed in a general way to deal
with the tax issue
Won't Urge Compulsory Savings.
Declaring specifically that he was
not going to recommend a compul-
sorry savings plan, the President
said he wanted to clear some mis-
understanding that had arisen on
this point as result of his tax
discussion at Tuesdays press con-
ference.
His remarks at that time led OBJ
servers TO believe the President
would recommend some form of
compulsory savings, though Secre-
tary of the Treasury Morgenthau
has objected to this plan for COM
batting imitation.
The President explained that what
he was saying Tuesday was that
compulsory savings could be used as
part of the taxing program and not
that it would.
Possible Form Of Taxation.
Compulsory savings. of course, he
added. is a possible form of taxa
ton. There are other possible forms
that might be adopted also, he con-
tlnued, including a sales tax. though
he interpolated it might be necessary
for Congress to pass that form of
levy over his veto. The President
said, however. that he hoped COM
pulsory savings would not be neces-
Sdrv. When a neWSman asked if it
would be necessary to legislate for
voluntary savings the President said
we'll that could be done.
A reporter told the President that
there seemed to be a drive on in
Congress to nullify his anti-inf1ation
program by getting money from the
Reconstruction Finance Corp. for
various programs and asked if he
had any comment on that.
Wants to See Better ole.
The President laughed and said
that he recalled a saying in England
during the last war about a better
ole, and he said that rather summed
up his views, that he would like
some one to show him a better ole.
He added that it's all right in this
life to say I don't like this and 1
don't like that. but the question re-
solves itself into what do you like?
Although the pay-as-you-go tax
legislation becomes effective July /,
its Withholding provisions will not
be felt by the majority of taxpayers
until July 8 or later-July 10 for
most people on a weekly wage basis.
That is because of a provision ap-
plying the 20 per cent withholding
levy to payroll periods which begin
on or after July l. Thus the first
weekly payroll period in July from
which deductions could be made
would end July 8.
The new law grants IS to 100
per cent abatement on either 1912
or l943 taxes, whichever are lower,
but does not grant relief from the
quarterly tax installment due next
Tuesday on 1912 tax liabilities.
Employers Instructed.
The 100 per cent abatement ap-
plies only to those tax liability
is $50 or less. For those whose
abatement year tax bill is between
$50 and S6667, a fiat $50 abatement
is granted, and for those whose
abatement year bill is over s6667. an
abatement of IS per cent is granted.
The remaining Is per cent must
he paid. 1872 per cent next March Is
and 1212 per cent March Is, 1945
Among the instructions issued by
the Treasury is one requiring all
employers who withhold total of
more than $l00 from their employees
wages in any one month to turn the
vithholdings over to a Treasury de-
pository by the 10th of the following
month.
In addition. employers must file
quarterly returns with the internal
revenue collector of their district re-