Evening star., 1947-06-03
Senate Is Ready
10 Send Tax Bill
.Io1runnan Today
26,1o1 900 Will Get
Full 80 Per Cent Cut,
Tuft Tells Critics
By J. A. o'Leory

The Senate is ready to send
the $4,000, ,000, ,000-a-year income
tax cut to the White House today
by approving the final draft,
which the House accepted over
whelmingly late yesterday.
But unless President Truman puts
his signature on the bill or lets it
become law in 10 days without sign
ing it, there is not likely to be any
tax reduction until next year.
Mr.. Truman has been urging Con-
gress to put debt retirement ahead
of tax reduction, but he is not on
record 1atly as saying he would
veto any tax relief measure.
The 100000 individuals who
would get reductions of from 80 to
los per cent year, starting July
l, can only wait, therefore. until
the President announces his de-
cision.
Taft Answers Critics of Bill.
Chairman Taft of the Senate Re-
publican Policy Committee declared
today the President Ought not to
veto this bill unless he regards it
as dangerous threat to the welfare
OF the country, which it obviously is
not Answering Democratic claims
that the bill gives the bulk of relief
to the higher brackets, Senator Taft
said the relief is distributed as fol-
lows:
The 30 per cent reduction would
go to 26,l91 900 taxpayers; 6,98o,0 900
individuals would get cuts between
20 and 80 per cent, and l6,495 ,161
would get a 20 per cent cut.
Even if allowance is made for a
decline from the present volume OF
business, there would be an S8,O00,-
100000 surplus in the Treasury in
the next fiscal year without this tax
cut, Senator Taft asserted, adding.
so there will be plenty of money
for debt reduction besides the tax
cut"
The Ohio Senator charged that
all spenders want to keep the tax
receipts up to 10000, ,000, 600 in or.
der to maintain a high standard of
Government spending. The quicker
we can revise our sights downward.
the lower we can keep the expendi-
lures. / don't believe the President
can afford to veto this bill, because
it would put him definitely on the
side of high taxes and high ex-
penses."
Senate Lacks Veto Strength.
Although the House vote of 22o
to SO in favor of the final draft
yesterday is well over the two-thirds
that would be required to override
a veto, the Senate does not appear
to have two-thirds.
The bill passed the Senate orig
irally by So to a. Senator George,
Democrat of Georgia, who formerly
handled tax bills for his party,
voted for the bill last week, but
has announced he would not vote
to override a Truman veto.
BY sending tax cut to the White
House the Republicans are carry
ing out the first pledge they made
when the voters put them back in
control of Congress last fall for the
first time in Is years.
One factor that may make /.
difficult for the President to veto
the bill is the increase in estimated
Treasury receipts from the current
tax law since Congress met in jan
uary. At that time the admins
tration predicted a deficit at the
close of the fiscal year, June 30,
Later the White House issued a,
statement forecasting surplus of
81 $50, 100000 Congressional experts
say it probably will be considerably
higher by June 80.
Doughton Notes Change.
This change in the picture was re-
f1ected in House debate yesterday on
the tax bill conference report.
Representative Doughton of North
Carolina. ranking Democrat on the
Ways and Means Committee, ex-
planned that, while he opposed the
original House bill, he is going along
with the final conference agreement.
He gave two reasons: First, the
final draft eliminates the retroactive
feature, and second, the estimated
revenue receipts of the Government
for next year are from $4,000, ,0e0 900
to s300o,000,000 higher than they
were when the tax bill was con-
sidered originally.
The original House bill carried
the reductions back to last January.
The Senate voted to start the cuts
July /, and the conferees accepted
that date. The only other change
was a compromise, narrowing down
the income-range to which a 20 per
cent cut would apply.
The July date means that for the
last half of 1947 the cuts would be
half the annual rate, or from Is per
cent for the fow-income groups to
5.25 per cent in the top brackets.