From Our Own San Francisco, Nov. 10.
Burther tax reduction seem to be Jnuthe offing President Coolidge Meclared a couple of days ago that jhe was convinced some relief should the forthcoming for corporation and Individual taxpayers, in the form lof rebates or refunds of 10 to 12 er cent on the 1926 payments, Although he believes that it will not be possible for the December session of Congress to revise the present reence laws, he has let it be known that his belief is so strong that he would advocate immediately the granting of temporary rebates, for auditions that are developing' war-ant this step being taken. The Treasury surplus this year, so it has been said at the White House, {Will approximate $260,000,000, and refund such as is proposed would Juean a return to the taxpayers of about that amount. While Scerettary Mellon admits' that receipts Would make this possible he is Known to disfavour more tax cutting at present, and looked with surprise on the' President's st the Treasury estimated that the surplus for the fiscal year ending June 30 next would be {185,000,000,000 at the most, but many signs since have pointed to Jarger surplus, and Democratic teaders—including' Senator Simmons, North Carolina, tax legislation spokesman for that party—have de-reduction to '$600,000,000 in some also interesting to note that, despite the heavy cut ordered by Congress in the me dividual income taxes last spring which made the American the least taxed man on the face of the earth) individual return receipts have been higher than anticipated, but the hullo of the increase over estimates have come from corporation taxes, the Jevies on which were raised' from 124 to 133 per cent To counteract the repeal of the capital stock tax, the suggested refund will not apply to the miscellaneous levies, includ~ Ang those on automobiles and forth, No Briton who has not had ex-Perience in this country can imagine at present a state of prosperity that will allow of such early additional tax reductions. When the revisions spring, it was felt. limit in the reduction of taxos—especially of income tax—had been reached, but it is now certain that this further indicated eduction will come up before the House Ways and Means Conimitteo, and as this Committee will prob: ably have taken the matter in hand Before this appears in print, it is likely that in December (when the House convenes) a definite recommendation will have been planned, The Result of Compromise President Coolidge's _announce-mont that he favours this rebate on incomes earned in 1926 represents a compromise between two plans which were so hopelessly involved with polities that decision Was deferred until after the Congressional elections, The Democrats have been in that another tax revision law could be adopted the short session, which begins next month and ends in March. The Re-
By announcing that a simple resolution of rebate will be approved, the administration has taken th initiative, and incidentally, as David Lawrence points out in Consolidated Press message,—will [develop a novelty in that " actual money will be returned to the taxpayer. This is a highly important political move, If you are handed ten or 12 per cent. of the actual money that you "have kissed goodbye" in taxes, you naturally undergo a strong psychological turn favour of the party who is responsible for this magnanimity. Then, again, the effect upon busi ness throughout the country when some $250,000,000 is turned back i to the pockets of the people is bound to be good, Economic eonditions, will be improved, and the Republicans will have given momentum to another argument about prosperity throughout the country that will be very useful just as the 1928 nominations come along and the electors' minds: are turned towards the next presidential election. The little bit of strategy that the President evinced, before Congress met, Jeannot but be considered by his friends as extremely wise, First, the administration will not be on the defence when Congress meets. Then, by making this statement, which pleases every voter, irrespective of his political leanings, the President has directed attention away from the somewhat disappoint. {ng impressions caused by the re-Jeent Democratic gains.
The Wider View Of course, we know that most of these things are very strongly loured Ly "polities," but no political Party can return money to the Jeicetors when there is no money in the Treasury to pay. This subject is important to the United States showing that the predictions of last spring with regald to surpluses: have come true. The tax situation is, indeed, far more satisfactory that was dreamed of, It also shows that the prosperity of the United States a thing that does not exist only within the columne of trade journals Jor in the minds of writers like myself. Such a situation, probably, never has been known in American history, and, while income tax payer may now reasonably be convinced that they will very soon have returned to them ten per cent, of] what they have paid in, and ' that this will come back to them in hard cash, it y that such a situ tion will never occur again. You cannot cut down taxes below the absolute irreducible, and that seems to have been reached—or one would think 0, though there were many last spring who believed the reductions then were far too generous, and would require modification against the taxpayer this year.
And while the United States has Jail this money, trade shows no sign lof weakening. 'Throughout the country prosperity continues, American life is on a plane by' itself. No country even begins to offer a parallel, and the standard of living advancing all the time. I will make bold to say that the average school girl, with her silk stockings and Georgette dresses, her marcclfied hair and manicured hands, her publicans in Congress have impressed on the administration "that it would iffcult for them to stop the De. moerats if such a move should be started," President Coolidge had hoped that tax reduction would be deferred until the Congress which meets in December, 1927, and the winter of 1928, would be convened, but his opinion at present seems to have changed considerably.—Secretary Mellon all along has shared the view of the President that it would be better to get further data before trying to pass another set of rates, but the political pressure to do something at the session of Congress commencing next month was too intense to withstand." Accordingly, the decision has been Teached by the administration that a rebate on 1926 payments would not commit the Government to a Permanent reduction of rates, but would satisfy the clamour for an. immediate reduction. her voracious spending habits and love of ice cream and expensive conffectionery, spends more in a week than her British cousin does in a month, or the average German girl jin 12 months. The American genjeraily is the most careless spender the world, yet go where you will you find comparatively no unemployment, and labour, all over the: country and in every avenue of, activity, is as independent as it well can be.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.