The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1949-12-01

Challenging the TreaSury'S
statistics of tax-exempt business
as grossly incomplete and mis-
leading, Rep. Noah M. Mason,
Illinois member of the House
Ways and Means Committee,
declared recently that nearly
$50 billion of competitive bust
ness volume-five times the
Treasury'S estimate of So bill
Iion-is escaping Federal in
come tax.
"The fast-growing racket of
doing business without paying
income taxes must be stopped
by Congress next year or the
National economy will be de-
Stroyed", he said.
imposition of income tax on
the business income of all tax
EXEMPT organizations and cor
porations would produce more
than 81 billion of new revenue,
the Republican Congressman
added, and would justify the
Immediate reduction of wartime
excise taxes to give Storekeep-
ers. railroads, theatre owners
and telephone and telegraph
systems a chance to make mon
ey instead of running in the
SaThe Treasury Departments
report shows that 99,467 tax
exempt organizations took in
total receipts of 1882 52, 900,
of which S8,175,9 32, 900 repreSen-
ted business receipts" Con-
gresham Mason stated. Those
figures were big enough to
make newspaper headlines last
week. but they are very far
from telling the whole deplor-
able story.
that fact but tries to excuse
its own inadequacy on the
ground that many organizations
are specifically exempt from
filing reports and also because
an indeterminate number of
those examinations required to
file have not done So
"For example, only 5000 far
mer-cooperatives out of more
than 10000 reported to the
Treasury, and the volume of
business shown in their returns
is only $780, 27, 900, though it
is well established that they did
three times that much last
year.
"City consumer co-ops are re-
quired to make no return what
Soever, because the Treasury
calls them income-taX payers
and then promulgates rules and
regulations that let this kind
of storekeeperS avoid payment
of practically all the tax that
their competitors have to pay.
'The law also relieves tax
free educational, religious, char
table and Governmental Or
carnations from the necessity
Of reporting their income and
expenditures, though their pre-
Sent-day ventures in the COM
petitfve business field are run
ming up a total volume that is
closely approaching that of the
co-opS. But in 1943, when Con-
greSS passed this Law as a part
of the revenue act of that year,
the colleges and other tax
exemptS had not gone into bus
mess to the multi billion-dollar
extent that they now have.
"Since then, New York Uni
versity has bought the Ramsay
Piston Ring Co., the Mueller
Macaroni Company and other
manufacturing concernS-and
removed them from the income
tax rolls. Yale's taX-free Con-
necticut Boola, Inc. has bought
the Macy store in San Francis
CO, and tax-eXempt Union Col
lege has bought the Allied
Stores Corporations properties
under sale and leaSe-back.
Recently, the United States
Wheat Corporation has bought
Tom Campbell's famous 65,0O0-
acre wheat ranch in Montana
for the benefit of a tax-exempt
foundation; Father Divine has
bought the third largest hotel
In Newark, N. ]. and gave 1t
t~aX-eXemption; Textron has
discovered how to finance oper-
atoms through non-taxpaying
charitable trusts; 50-odd con-
@