Book Description

Excerpt from Proposed Taxation of Individual and Corporate Incomes, Inheritances and Gifts: Hearings Before the Committee on Ways and Means House of Representatives Seventy-Fourth Congress First Session The committee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Robert L. Doughton (chairman) presiding. The Chairman. The committee will come to order. The hearings before this committee, which are now open, will, I trust, be confined to the subject matter of the message submitted by the President of the United States to the Congress on June 19, 1935.The message of the President contains three general proposals concerning tax methods and policies; the first, in respect to an inheritance and gift tax in addition to our existing estate and gift taxes; the second, in respect to higher surtaxes on individuals; and the third, in respect to a graduated income tax on corporations. While the message of the President furnishes an excellent guide as to policies and methods for this committee to follow, it does not attempt to specify in detail the precise plan which should be adopted. For example, in the case of the first proposal made by the President, it will be the duty of this committee to decide where we should start the inheritance tax and what rates should be proposed. It is likewise the duty of this committee to determine at what point the surtaxes will be revised and also to determine what the maximum rate shall be. Finally, the committee must determine how much graduation shall be made in the corporate income tax. For my own part, I believe that we should keep strictly within the terms of the Presidents message, because I believe that changes in our tax structure should be made gradually, so that business will not be affected to such an extent as would be the case if sudden changes are made in the entire tax system. If we can establish the proper principles at this time, there will be ample opportunity in the future to revise and perfect whatever measure may be enacted into law at this session. The matter of Federal taxation is one that needs constant study and frequent adjustments to meet our fiscal needs, and also provide equality in taxation so far as it is in the power of Congress to provide and maintain an equitable and just system of taxation. At this point, I will insert in the record the message of the President in reference to this subject, dated June 19, 1935. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.