Small Favors

Business had been expecting something of a jackpot from the Administration, and it got paid off with a few nickels. When it came right down to it last week, the Administration was willing to trim a few wartime excise taxes here & there, but to make up for the favor, it wanted to increase other taxes on business by another $1 billion a year.

The only outright excise repeal the Ad ministration had in mind was the 3% tax on freight transportation and the 20% tax on baby oils, powders and lotions. A few other items came in for varying cuts: plane, bus and train tickets (from 15% to 10%), long distance telephone and telegraph tolls (25% to 15%), furs, luggage, jewelry and cosmetics (20% to 10%). The tax would stay on such items as movie tickets, sport goods and autos--and the 10% tax on radio would be extended to television sets as well.

To repay the Treasury for these concessions, Secretary John Snyder wanted to tighten up the special allowances enjoyed by mine producers and oilmen, to start taxing religious, educational and charitable institutions for any income earned from operating their own businesses on the side, and to tack on $1,075,000,000 more in new estate, gift and corporation taxes.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.