The Daily Alaska empire., 1951-01-19
BUTR0VI(H l F0R5EE5N0
 NEW TAXES
Fairbanks Senator Due Here Sunday, Gives Pic
 lure on Taxation
By JIM HUTCHINSON

SEATTLE. Jan. 19-tR-The Sem ator who is likely to be the Repub- lican leader in the new Alaska Le- gislature predicted today that the 1851 session will be no-tax session.
 T doubt seriously if any new taxes will be enacted" Territorial Sen. John Butrovich of Fairbanks said. He expressed the belief there is no need for new ones and that there certainly is no desire for them on the part of the public.
 The 1851 session opens at Juneau Monday. with Democrats solidly in control of the House and an even eight eight split of the two parties in the Senate.
 Butrovich, who has been hos pitalized here for surgical treat ment, expects to fly to Juneau Sun day.
 '"The Budget problem; think it is the only real problem" declared the businessman who played a key role as chairman of the 1949 Sen ate Finance Committee in drafting the budget under which the Terri tory now is operating.
 Butrovich said he thinks it will be a very peaceful session-once we get organized"
 He predicted the major contro- versies will be over side issues"-- such items as the disagreements thas figured prominently in the election campiagn.
 But he acknowledged the organi- zation of the evenly divided Senate might bring a lively battle to start things off. He recalled the deadlock of several days in electing Senate officers when the 1949 Senate was evenly divided.
 Possible President
 Butrovich himself has been men toned prominently as the possible choice for Senate President. He declined to comment on whether he would be interested in holding the presiding officers gavel if it IS thrust in his direction. The budget framing Finance Committee job is his first love.
 In discussing the tax possibilities Butrovich said the only likely new sources would be a boost in the ln- come tax or a levy of more excise taxes on the things the public buys. He said he doesn't think anyone wants either.
 The favorable phase of the taxa ,, ton picture, he said, is the revenue from the income tax. Since it is lO ! percent of the federal income tax, 1t will automatically increase when the i federal tax goes up.
 T think it will produce $7,0O0,OoO in the next biennium," he asserted. "It will more than make up for I what is lost in the general property !
 | tax"
 The property tax, enacted by the 1949 legislature, was held invalid by the District Court in Alaska Butrovich predicted it will be tied ] up in the courts for the next bien- nium. so it can not be taken into the revenue picture.
 Cites Report Butrovich cited a report from Tax Commissioner M. P. Mullaney of income tax collections of $3,302 ,077 | for 1850. That's rate of $6,600. .000 for the biennium, and the Senator recalled that the 1949 Senate Fi- nance Committee estimate was only $4,0OO,0O0 for the two-year period. He recalled there were skeptics in 1 l949 who predicted the tax would fall short of the $4,O00,000 estimate 1 The income tax, part of the basic tax program long advocated by Gov ernor Gruening, was the biggest | source of revenue, by far. The total 1850 tax take listed by the Tax Commissioner was $9.549, BIO. The other major sources were: raw fish tax $l,399.913; liquor ex- else taxes $1,367,836; fuel tax for roads $915,923 fish trap licenses s584 O5O; tobacco tax $442, ,632; auto license plates $278,840; nonresident fishermen's licenses $249,54
 In discussing the prospect of ap- propriations in the next budget
 Butrovich said he doesn't think
 services of the territory will have
 to be curtailed, but we won't bt 1 able to enlarge on them. We vii
 have to hold the lines" | Miko Cfanovicb EoirhonL ic al