The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1949-01-08
TWO TAX bills
INTRODUCED IN
LOWER CHAMBER
Income. General Property
Tax Measures Brought
in by Ways, Means

Not waiting for the senate 10
settle its difficulties and elect
President, the House of Represen-
tatives yesterday afternoon tackled
the lob of getting basic tax legis-
lation under way by receiving two
tax measures from the Ways and
Means Committee.
The two bills, net income tax
bill and a general property tax bill,
were introduced by Rep. Stanley
McCutcheon of Anchorage, tenn
porary chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee. At his request
they were referred back to the
Ways and Means Committee by
Speaker James Nolan for further
checking and for the purpose OF
drawing up some amendments.
The measures differ only in some
details from the two bills introduce
ed in the Senate two years ago by
Senators Norman r. Walker and
Victor C. Rivers.
The income tax bill, which bears
the first number on this years
calendar of House bills, provides
in general for a tax amounting to
10 per cent of the sum paid by an
individual, firm or corporation to
the Federal Government. There is a
Withholding provision SO that the
tax will be deducted from the
wages or salaries of employees and
paid to the Territorial Tax CON-
missioner by the employer.
Exemption For Residents
The small wage-earner and 9TH
ers in low income groups who re-
side in Alaska the entire year will
not. however, be taxed under this
bill. Each individual resident Will
be allowed a credit of $45 or the
amount of his tax, whichever is the
lesser, against the tax levied upon
him.
This means that residents of the
Territory who pay Federal income
tax of $3.50 a year or less will not
be subject to the Territorial tax.
Rules and regulations are to be set
UP by the Tax Commissioner to
adjust the withholding tax on such
individuals to reflect this credit.
individuals who do not reside in
the Territory throughout the tax
able year will not receive this Gre
dit. Persons who are employed in
the Territory all or part of the
year but maintain residence in
the States will be subject to the
full tax of 10 per cent of Federal
income tax payments.
Tax Retroactive
The income tax set up by this
bill would be retroactive, in the
event it is passed, and the tax
year would start on January l,
l949.
Persons who are not subject to
withholding of the Federal tax
under the Internal Revenue Code
will be required to file annual re-
turns with the Tax Commissioner
and to pay the tax at the same
dates the Federal tax is due. This
applies also to firms, corporations,
banks and all other business estab-
lishments in the Territory, and
to outside firms which do all or a
part of their business in Alaska.
Firms doing a part of their bus
mess in Alaska and part of it else
where will be taxed on the income
derived from the portion Of the
business that was done in the Ter
ritory.
Steamship lines, airplane COM
panies and trucking companies
serving the Territory will be taxed
upon the basis of the length Of
time their ships, planes, or trucks
are actually operated within the
Territory.
Employers Collect
Each employer making payment
of wages is required to withhold
the tax and to remit it to the Tax
Commissioner, who is empowered
to draw up rules and regulations
for the administration of the pro-
posed law.
Penalties for a violation Of the
proposed Act include additional
payments at the rate of five per
cent for each 80 days the tax is
unpaid, not exceeding Is per cent
of the total amount; interest on
amounts due the Territory, and a
fine of not more than $1,000, jail
sentence of not longer than six
month, or BOTH. In addition a
business firm licensed by the Terri
tory may have its business license
suspended.
The bill provides that moneys
collected under the proposed Act
will be covered into the general