The Wrangell sentinel., 1949-04-01
THROUGH THE SENTINEL PERISCOPE
HaYing Signed all but one of thl


 I30 laws passed by the Legislature at it's session ending last week Gov. Gruening took a plane for Washington, D. C., Tuesday Hear ing on his confirmation was sched- uled to come up before the Senate committee on Interior and Insular Affairs today. Only the eagle bounty bill failed to win approval The Governor let it become law without his signature He was ae- companied east by Mrs. Gruening and they expect to be gone for several weeks.
 Also east bound for the hearing were a good many other Alaskans including a delegation of about 40 from Anchorage, headed by Mayor F. J. Loussac and House Speaker Stanley McCutcheon to ap pear in support of the Governors confirmation. N6ws reports had Capt. E. A. Lathrop of Fairbanks and A. H. Ziegler of Ketchikan heading other groups who planned to appear opposing the Gruening confirmation.
 BOAT TAX
 Boat owners won a choice in the recent Legislature. After the pro perty tax act, levying one per cent on true value of all real and personal property in the Territory with $2OO personal exemption, was enacted, Rep. Andrew Hope of Sitka brought in a bill to amend the act to give boat owners the choice of paying the one per cent levy or paying S4 per net ton of a vessels registered tonnage with a minimum of not less than S20 per year. It won the approval of both Houses and the Governor As a result boat owners can elect to pay either The law was aimed to ease the tax burden on small fishing boat operators, many of whom protested the original act
 FISH TAX
 All handlers of fish and fishery products come under the new Ii- cense tax law passed by the Leg islature. The original act provided for an annual license tax equal to four per cent of the value of raw fish purchased by salmon value to be fixed at 50 per cent of the average wholesale price In Seattle during the months of Au- gust through December of the tax year. License tax on salmon used for other than canning was set at one per cent of the value. This act also included herring pro- basis; crab canneries on two per cent basis; and clam canneries at two per cent of the value of raw clans with the exception of butter clans on which the one per cent of the value of the raw product is levied. This law GOV cred only the above listed fishing industries, but the Senate Taxa tion committee came up with law to amend the original which includes cold storage plants and other fish processors. It provides for an annual license tax equal to one per cent of the value of the raw halibut, halibut livers and viscera, salmon and bottom fish, shellfish or other fishing re- source bought or otherwise obtain ed for processing through freezing, salting or other method The value of the raw material under this license shall be the actual price paid for same including indirect considerations such as fuel or sup plies furnished by the processor or offsets to the cash value for gear furnished, etc. Questions re garding this and other Territoria taxes should be addressed to the Department of Taxation, Box 2751. Juneau, Alaska.
 Note to House Ways and Means committee: There's an error in the general appropriations bill. Actually it only totals up to S13,- 03s,745.3O, not $13,041, ,656.SO the title reads. Mistake was in ad- dition of the amounts given the of flee of the Commissioner of Eduea- ton. Instead of s135.770.10, you only gave that office s132,S5S.60. Commissioner James c. Ryan also is wondering just how much he is going to be paid. The salary act set the salary of the Commissioner at s8,O00. The general appropria- tions bill provides for S8.SO0 for that position. The Attorney General rules that the salary bill will pre- vail.