The Daily Alaska empire., 1945-03-07
GAS TAX ACT E APPROVED
 Y5ENAToR5
Three Gents Per- Gallon Levy Cut in Half for
 Seap|dnes

afternoon put it's O. K. on the Gasoline Tax, after first amending Senate Bill No 35 to cut the levy on aircraft used exclusively as sea- planes, from 3 to i9s cents per gallon. The three-cent rate would be paid by operators of all other planes and of motor vehicles using the highways.
 The seaplane tax cut was pushed through after Sheldon Simmons of the Alaska Coastal Airlines had appeared to point out possible ef- fects of the three-cent levy on the Seaplane traffic in Southeast Alaska. Not all Senators from the other Divisions were convinced, but most of them were willing to ease off when it was shown that sea- planes could expect to reap but little benefit from the tax fund.
 Easing his statements on the fuel consumption of his company's planes during the past year, Pilot Simmons declared the three-cent levy would mean a payment of S3,000 per year in taxes by his or ganization alone. There are three other companies in Southeast AL aska that would be handing out similar sums, he added. We are willing to pay on that proportion of our business that makes use of wheel planes, he said, but we do not think it fair to put such a heavy load on our float-equipped plane traffic; especially since we have been informed by the High way Engineer that, under the most recent ruling. no part of the fund could be spend for construction or repair of seaplane ramps.
 Added Expense
 We have hoped to lower our fares, not raise them," Simmons remarked. But, he said, this tax would be an added expense from which we could not possibly receive proportionate benefits.
 In answer to Senator Leo w. Rogge, Simmons stated that his company would not object to the tax if it were also applied to boats. "We're in direct competition with boats" he said.
 Following amendment, the bill was put upon final passage under suspension of rules. Discussion pre- ceding the vote brought comments from most of the Senators.
 Fourth Division Senators Frank Gordon, Andrew Nerland and Rogge pointed to the burden that would be put on freight trucking in the Interior and expressed objection, not only to the tax cut for sea- planes. but also to the exempting of water vessels from taxation under the measure.
 Senator H. H. McCutcheon called the bill Just another nuisance tax and remarked that the same Senators who had "keel-hauled" the Net Income Tax proposal were now advocating the gas tax.
 Even-Up Stunt
 Senator Rogge reversed his po- sition, somewhat, to opine that the Senator from Anchorage had been defeated on something he wanted and is now trying to impress on us that we did something wrong.
 Senator Allen Shattuck pointed out that most of the fine high ways" in the States had been built with funds from similar motor fuel taxes. One of the bills authors, Senator Frank Whaley, concluded with estimates as to the likely revenue returns to the Territory to be derived from the act.
 The tax is not experimental, he maintained. For years similar tax laws have been raising hundreds of millions of dollars" for highway construction throughout most of the States of the Union. Based on a tax rate of three cents per gallon, he estimated the levy would return $2l6,000 per biennium from auto- mobiles and trucks and an addi- tional $36,000 from aircraft, over the two-year period
 The entire amount of taxes col- lected under the bill would go into a separate fund for construction and maintenance of roads, high ways and aircraft facilities, he en- phasized.
 Vote on the measure showed II Senators favoring the bill and five opposed. Voting mo- were: Sen- ators John Butrovich, Jr., Ner- land. Gordon .McCutcheon and Ed ward D. Coffey.