Evening star., 1945-10-11
House Restricts
Debate 10 Insure
Tax Vote Today
Floor Amendments
Burred; Action Hints
Of Political Issue
BY J. A., O,LEARY.

doodSc VI Tie 20 SUI, ,UUU ,UUU tax
reduction bill this afternoon was
virtually assured when the House
unanimously adopted this morn
ing a rule limiting debate to
four hours and barring amend
ments from the floor.
Designed to give individuals and
corporations some relief from high
wartime taxes in 1916, the measure
offers members of Congress the first
chance they have had in more than
a decade to vote for tax reductions.
The preliminary debate on the rule
gave clear indication that taxation
and Government spending will be a
live political issue in the congress
sional elections of 1916, and in the
l948 presidential campaign.
SABBATH Criticizes Rule.
Chairman SABBATH of the Rules
Committee favored abolition of the
rule, which came from his own COM
mittee, and called it "a gag rule
OF the worst order" He said it was
granted at the unanimous request
of the Ways and Means COMMITTEES.
Mr.. Sabath's criticism was aimed
at the cut in the excess profits tax
from net rate of 85.5 to 60 per
cent, which he called "unjustifiable
and unwarranted" Mr.. SABBATH as
serted that corporations accumu-
lated between 26 and 28 billions in
their reserve funds during the war,
The gentleman is revealing a very
shocking condition that has been
permitted under the New Deal"
shouted Representative Knutson,
Republican, of Minnesota.
Brown, Slaughter Comment.
Representatives Brown, Repub.
lican, of Ohio and Slaughter, Demo-
crat, of Missouri pointed out that
the Ways and Means Committee did
not go as far as the administration
desired in getting rid of the excess
profits tax
Mr.. Brown recalled that Secre-
tary OF the Treasury Vinson asked
for outright repeal of the. tax in
January, and Mr.. Slaughter said
that Secretary of State Byrnes,
while mobilization director had
urged its repeal when the war ended,
| In setting forth the Republican
position, Minority Leader Martin
said his party's group on the COM
mittee originally favored 20 per
cent reduction for all individuals.
and took the pending bill as the
best compromise at this time. 1t
gives all individuals at least 10 per
cent in the upper brackets and
more in the middle income class.
depending on the number of per.
sonal exemptions. Continuing, Mr..
Martin declared
therefore, serve notice that,
although the Republican members
OF this House will give their support
to this measure, we shall continue
to light with unf1agging determine
ton to reduce the costs of this Gov.
ernment and, by SO doing, eventual
ly reduce the burden of taxes.
Michener Defends Rule.
Replying to Mr.. Sabath's criticism
of the cloture rule, Representative
Michener, Republican, of Michigan
said, This rule is a creature Of
necessity, because experience has
shown you cannot write a tax bill
in public convention.
When the bill reaches the Senate
a strong move will be made there
to eliminate the excess profits tax
IN 1916 instead of waiting until
1947, as the House bill does.
AS House debate began, the CIO
and IA other organizations joined
IN another demand that the Ways
and Means Committee bill be re-
jected and rewritten, but the plea
is destined to fail. The CIO petit
ton contended the bill grants huge
windfallS to the most prosperous
corporations, but by retaining SUBJ,
standard personal exemptions per-
mits only meager relief to low and
middle income groups" -
One Feature Favored Widely.
The bill, however, contains one
feature that will win wide support
in both branches of Congress. It
sweeps 100000 families in the
ow-income brackets off the tax rolls
entirely, by allowing the same per-
sonal exemptions from the per cent
normal tax as from the surtax rates.
Other high lights of the bill are:
The combined normal and surtax
rates on corporations are cut per
cent, from range of Is to 40 per
cent, to range of 81 to 36 per cent.
For corporations it also repeals the
declared value capital stock tax next
July.
Wartime increases in excise taxes
on cosmetics, liquor, furs, jewelry,
many other commodities, and on
travel and admission tickets, would
be reduced, as of July l, to the 1912
| level.
Puts off for another year the
automatic increase that was due to
take effect January / in the pay
roll tax for old-age insurance. This
means the tax will remain at per
cent each on employer and employe,
instead of going up to 21s per cent
on each.
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