Evening star., 1948-06-09
Senate May Act
This Week on
D. {. Sales Tax
Bockers Meet Today
On Pushing Measure
Passed by House
By Don S. Worren

~ Nv" - FNSaiS"
Senate action on the House.
passed District revenue bill,
combining a 2 per cent retail
sales tax with revised personal
income levy limited to incomes
above $4,000, may be sought be-
fore the end of this week.
The measure easily cleared hurdles
in the House late yesterday and
was passed after two hours of de-
bate by standing vote of 1l6 to II.
Only one major effort was made
in the House to kill the bill. and
this was smothered by a IS to 16
vote while the body was sitting as
a committee of the whole House.
Several amendments were written
into the bill on the House floor, but
sponsors said none of these changed
the bill in any major respect.
AS it passed the House. the bill
would become effective 60 days after
enactment. Leaders of the House
and Senate District Committees,
however. have an understanding a
move will be made to postpone the
effective date for a year, If Congress
does not pass Government pay
raise.
Conference Slated Today.
Sponsors of the bill were to con-
fer today to map the course of final
legislative action. These included
Chairmen Dirksen and Buck of the
House and Senate District Com
mittees, and Chairman Bates and
Cain of their Fiscal subcommittee.
Also. a last-ditch appeal will be
made tomorrow by School Supt. Ho-
bart M. Corning for a bill to remove
protested inequities from the pres
ent teacher pay act. He will confer
with Mr. Bates.
Both Chairmen Bates and Cain
have taken stand against any
general increase now in the teacher
pay levels, in view of the boosts
granted last year. What may be
done about the inequity cases ap-
peared doubtful.
Meanwhile, the 1949 city supply
bill, calling for an outlay of about
100000 900, now is on its way to a
House-Senate conference. On mo-
ton by Chairman Horan of the
House Appropriations Subcommit-
tee in charge of the spending bill,
the House yesterday ordered the
bill to conference.
Managers Meet Friday.
House and Senate managers are
scheduled to meet Friday. House
conferees will be Chairman Horan
and Representatives Stefan, of
Nebraska; Church. of Illinois. and
Stockman, of Oregon, Republicans.
and Andrews, of Alabama: Bates.
of Kentucky, and Fogarty of Rhode
Island, Democrats, all members Of
the Horan Subcommittee.
Senate conferees are Chairman
Dworshak of the District Subcom-
mittee OF the Senate Appropriations
Committee and Senators Ball, of
Minnesota; Young, of North Dakota,
and Cain of Washington, Repub-
icans, and O'Mahoney. of Wyoming;
McCarran, of Nevada, and Green,
of Rhode Island. Democrats.
The major attack on the new
revenue bill was led in the House
by Representative Klein, Democrat,
of New York. He offered substi-
tute to broaden the application of
the District income levy to include
all persons who live here and to
boost the rates. Under his plan the
income tax would have brought in
an additional s12,0O0,000 a year.
The Klein plan Immediately was
challenged by Mr.. Dirksen, Mr..
Bates and Representative Smith.
Democrat, of Virginia. They re-
called the District Committee last
year made fight to broaden the
base of the city's income tax, only
to have the bill defeated by the
House.
Chairman Dirksen, summing up
this argument, told House members,
You tied our hands last year."
House insistence on limiting the in
come levy only to those legally
domiciled" in the District applied
the tax to only $4,000 out of a poten-
GoU,OuU toApdyCIo.
The Klein substitute. defeated on
this test by IS to Is. was dropped.
Amendments adopted included
those to exempt from the sales tax
soft drinks along with other confec-
tions and foods. dues payments to
noncommercial clubs, coff1ns and
caskets and services and commod-
tiles in nonprofit private hospitals.
Several Attack Bill.
Attacks on the combination sales
tax and high-bracket income levy
were made by Representatives
SABBATH, of Illinois; Eberharter, Of
Pennsylvania; Lesinski, of Ohio:
Huber, of Ohio; Kennedy, of Mas
sachusetts, and Sadowski, of Mich
igan, all Democrats.
| Prompt defenses came not only
from Mr.. Dirksen and Mr.. Bates
but also from Representatives
Deane, of North Carolina, and
Smith, of Virginia, both Democrats,
and Mr.. Horan.
Sales tax opponents charged the
levy would bear heaviest on the
families III the lowest-income
brackets
IMr< GIosshrenner Elected