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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1955)
TWTLYZ MEDrORD (OREGON) topgap Senator Lovry Tells Of Tax Discussions As Session Hears End (Xditor'i net: Tha Oregon it. Held back only by the necessity of presenting a finished program of taxation. The debate is far from resoWed, and the "situation is changing from hour to hour." In the following article, Medford's State Sen. Philip B. Lowry, a member of the Senate committee on taxation, describes in detail the thinking of legislators, the possibility that a sales tax may be enacted, and the other phases of the one big eroblem which the legislature has yet to solve before it can go home.) By STATE SEN. From patchwork and stopgap to attempted permanence in our Oregon tax structure is the goal of atrong elements of both the Senate and House Tax commit tees at this moment. Whether these efforts will be successful is still uncertain. The final decision, in any event, will probably rest with the voters, at a special election during the summer. The Senate Tax Committee Tuesday concluded another in a series of frequent and lengthy meetings to re-review the situ ation. Oregon taxes are going to have a new big look during the next two years. The only alter native is that the voters will, in effect, say to the legislature that they want no new taxes, but prefer to reducebasic school sup port, welfare and higher edu cation. These are the substantial items in the budget and the only place where any real cutting is possi ble. Faets Stated Reduced to very plain facts, it now appears that the Ways and Means Committee will submit a final budget requiring new reve nue of $62,200,000. This will' be scaled down only to the extent that the recommended building program of $14,900,000 is reduced. Re-checks of existing revenue sources resulted 'in the Senate tax committee's eliminating any Pemey's FABULOUS BLOUSE BUY! it v., -J ANIillfCBCADV It :l Manufacturers Closeout of Much :f Better Cotton Blouses . . . with I "Sissy Boy" Collars and Lots of Details. Finest Quality Machine Washable Fabrics. r SOLID COLORS PRINTS AND STRIPES NOW ONLY Blouses at a breathtaking low Penney price! Styled in "Lucina" cotton with a look and feel almost like silk, they're blouse high fashion with outstanding collar lines and in a line up of colors to make your pvps non! white, red. black . r" r- ' . . . turquoise, gold, lettuce ' green, tan, pink and coral. Sizes 32 to 40. MAIL TRIBUNE to f ormanence:' Can 1 Legislature is Bearing adjourn- PHILIP LOWRY hope for increases from present tax sources. It may be that we are on the conservative side in deciding that income, excise, liquor and insurance premium taxes will show no increase. However, it is the belief of the members of the committee that conservatism in public finance is better than to assume the risk of a deficit at the end of the blennlum on June 30, 1957. The House Tax Committee plan submitted to the Senate had upped these estimates by $6Vfe million. Testimony before the Senate Committee showed that we would have to experience a considerable upturn in the Ore gon economy to justify increas ing the estimates and that there has been no noticeable change in the rates of current collections, which would justify counting upon these increases. New Taxes Planned New taxes already passed or likely to pass have been added as follpws: Increased tax on in surance premiums $1,500,000 Markup on liquor 2,500,000 Removing utility exemption 920,000 Cigarette tax 8,800.000 New corporate in come tax (separate from corporate excise tax) 200,000 To this, the House added an G0O CDCniHI I Thursday, April 21, 19S3 item of $3,700,000 resulting from the increase in the withholding tax from 1 per cent to 2 per cent. This does not represent a r.ew source of revenue. It simply accelerates the time when the state receives the money and would never again be available unless withholding rates were again increased. These new taxes cannot go into effect in time to yield rev enue for the full two-year period of the biennium commencing July 1, because we cannot at tach the emergency clause to any tax legislation. They will become effective 90 days follow ing adjournment. For that rea son, it is necessary for the Sen ate Tax Committee again to scale down the estimates of the House Committee as to the ex pected yield of the new taxes. Attractive Figures Simple arithmetic produces the result, after arriving at these decisions, that the balance to be raised by increased income taxes, a sales tax, a state prop erty tax, or a combination of them, is $44,580,000. This is a staggering figure when credit is given for the $7 Vis million sur plus which we anticipate will be on hand on July 1, 1955. Assuming that the legislature adopts the recommended build ing program of $14,920,000 and decides to finance it currently, rather than from bonds, the re quired increase in income taxes to meet the deficit is not 32 per cent, as the House estimated, nor around 50 per cent, as we cal culated last week in the Senate Tax Committee, . but instead about 60 per cent. If the ciga rette tax is referred and de feated, the income tax increase required would have to be ap proximately 70 per cent, unless we let part of the load fall on a state property tax. The overall percentage in crease to any given individual would, of course, vary in accord ance with the effect of his Fed eral tax deduction. Surplus Almost Gone This . situation results from the near exhaustion of the war time surplus and the .fact that a i p3) .1 : 7 ' population increases in Oregon have stretched our state institu tions to the bursting point. If the state is going to take care of prisoners, tubercular patients the feeble minded and mental cases, it must shortly expand its facilities to do so, unless we are willing to allow these institu tions to operate on a substand ard scale. The day of reckoning is at hand, and the days are gone when we can any longer count on the war surplus to allow us to spend around $20,000,000 annu ally in excess of revenues, aswe have done for so long. Opinion is somewhat divided in the legislature as to whether the building program should be bonded or paid from current ap propriations, and . whether it should be held to around $10,- uuu.uuu. .Bonding requires an election, which, if not immedi ately called, would, delay start of construction on urgently needed buildings. Interest Factor Bonding also brings in the in terest factor and reverses the traditional Oregon policy of pay ing for its state institutions from current appropriations. On the other hand, a bond program would soften the blow to the Oregon taxpayer in the immedi ate future. Heretofore, we have had no hesitancy to vote bonds to construct highways and pay the Veterans' bonus. As yet, we have not even figured out a way to discharge the bonus bonds. If we adopt the bonding ap proach and it is approved by the voters, it becomes an open invi tation to future sessions of the legislature to take this method, and that may not be altogether desirable. , The Ways and Means Commit tee should soon advise us what the extent of the building pro gram will be and its method of financing. At that point, we will know exactly how much revenue will be required, and we can make a final calculation as to how stiff the income tax in crease will be, if we are going to use that approach. Doesn't Criticize House It should be made absolutely plain that no criticism is due the House and its Tax Committee for the program submitted to the Senate. Budget savings hoped for by the House Committee have not materialized. Governor Patterson's budget has proved to be very tight, without eliminat ing existing state services. Also, the House hoped that the build ing program could be held to a smaller figure and this may yet be possible. Too, the House was anxious to send the Senate the framework of a tax program as soon as possible, because all revenue bills must originate there. We have had the advan tage of reviewing estimates on an up-to-the-minute basis and also have had the benefit of public reaction to the House pro gram. The Senate Tax Committee is now exploring the impact of an income tax increase going as high as 60 or 70 per cent, with due consideration as to how this should be spread among the tax payers falling in the different brackets. This means our re examining all . the various in come tax proposals from pro gressive bracket increases to a universay income 1 tax in the light of the highest increase which may be necessary. . -Encouraged Sales Tax Bill Our Senate Tax Committee, by a vote of 5 to 1, encouraged the House Tax Committee to send us a general sales tax bill, in order that it could be consid ered as one of the possible solu tions of the problem. We now know that the House has such a sales tax bill ready, but it is very uncertain whether it will be favorably acted upon in the House. This we should know within the next couple of Senate may refuse to approve days. It is also possible that the an income tax increase going as high as 60 or 70 per cent. If the Senate should approve, there would then be the question as to whether the House would con cur in view of the fact that the 32 per cent increase income tax bill had a margin of only one vote in the House. Despite press reports, a ma jority of the Senate Tax Com mittee is still reluctant to put out . a sales tax bill. Senator Steeh and I have stated that we will vote to put it before the Senate, if the House enacts it. The present thinking of a ma jority of the House Tax Commit tee is to enact increased income tax legislation in whatever amount is required to meet the applauds the , move toward a vision that theincreases and ex- Daily's U-Drive Medford Airport goalafcur tensions to the lower-bracket taxpayers will not go into effect, if a general sales tax is adopted at a special election of the voters to be ' called within approxi mately 60 days after adjourn ment. Like anyone else, we read the newspapers. The Oregon Journal applauds the move toward a sales tax. The Oregonian, on the ctlier hand, deplores the rush in this direction, describing it as premature. ; We know that many other edi tors, as well as the public, won der why we cannot make up our minds in less than 100 days. Members of the Tax Committees do not live in a vacuum and we are aware that there has been a significant change in the attitude of Oregon voters toward the sales tax since we convened. We cannot, of course, determine the extent of the shift. At the outset of the session, we had an inexact idea of the extent of the deficit. Moreover, it takes' time thoroughly to go over a $200,000,000 budget. An nouncement of legislative inter est in a sales tax will enable us to get an additional reaction from the public. This could, to a large extent, influence the out come within the next few days. My own belief is that we should exercise our own judg ment as to the best way to solve the problem, and if the voters decide to reverse us, we must then return for a special session. Strategic considerations, in my opinion, should not enter into the . picture in making our de cisions as to how to finance Ore gon for the next two years. Without question, it is a difficult task to do this, knowing that our judgment can be upset by referendum on , an income tax, a sales tax or a cigarette tax. Has Fared Badly Heretofore, the sales tax has fared badly at the polls, in Ore gon: For Against 1333 45,603 167,512 1934 64,677 156,182 1936 32,106 187,319 1938 112,172 219,557 1944 . 96,697 269,276 1947 67,514 180,333 The Jackson County figures are also interesting: For Against 1933 2571 4024 1934 4555 3193 1936 1710 5380 msm m Country good Pure, fresh honey natural graham flour in nabisco Sugar Honey grahams give a wholesome flavor children love, day after day. They're baked tender and golden by special nabisco methods. Won't spoil appetites because they digest so easily. A perfect between-meal snack ! Buy nabisco Grahams this kind will please you most. NATIONAL BISCUIT COMPANY NABISCO Sugar Honey GRAHAMS i 1938 . : 3110 7031 1944 .. : .....4201 8142 1947 ;; .......:..3019 5240 In the midst of all this is one very hard fact. A failure of any one of the substantial new taxes could result; in the auto matic collection of the state property tax to the extent of the 6 mill limitation for the first time since 1942. To Jackson county property owners, this would mean be tween 8 and 9 mills, because bonded indebtedness is not with in the 6 mill limitation. There is general agreement on the Tax Committees that this is to be avoided if at all possible. This decision, however, is in the hands of the voters who have the right to decide what taxes, if any, will be referred. To Close Loopholes The Senate ' Tax Committee has worked steadily during the session to draw and pass a series of bills eliminating tax avoid ance and tax evasion devices to the fullest possible extent. They have not attracted wide atten tion, nor will they raise great amounts of revenue, but they do indicate that we have been diligent in closing as many loop holes as possible. A broad base tax is inevitable in Oregon, if we are going to continue the rate of public ex penditure established for the past several years. We have not yet felt the full shock of school requirements that are going to be upon us within the next few years. A growing population in Oregon has brought financial problems which have not con fronted previous legislatures. My hope is that the legislature will adopt, and the public will sustain, principles of 'taxation which will have permanence. BILL SENT TO GOVERNOR Salem (U.R) The House passed and sent to the governor yesterday a bill which would give a person the right to de mand a jury trial in Municipal ! Court if conviction would sub-! ject him to a penalty of more than 10 days in jail or a fine of more than $100. GREEK GUILTY? Atlanta, Ga. U.R) Thieves broke into a Greek Orthodox church here and stole a type writer that will write nothing but Greek letters, police re ported. Jl Ml ill'.i.l.'i.l'l1 mi I i I uiui l.'i' . ill .n Jim Db m Gen. Ridgway Offered,. Job by Kaiser Firm Oakland, Calif. (U.R) Offic ials of the Henry J. Kaiser Com pany have disclosed the firm has approached Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, Army chief of staff, about joining the company when he retires next August. A company spokesman said last night that Edgar Kaiser, president of the firm, confirmed he has been discussing the mat ter' with Ridgway in Buenos Aires, where both men are now visiting. Kaiser said no decision has been made as yet. Actress, Band Leader En Route To Honolulu Hollywood (U.R) Actress Mamie Van Doren and band leader Ray Anthony' hopped' a plane to Honolulu early today for a "vacation" jaunt that pos sibly may end with a wedding. , Anthony admitted as he board ed a Pan American airliner that they "could very well" be mar ried on the trip. CARS COLLIDE Cars driven by Stanley W. Merrell Jr., 211 North Peach st., and George A. Galbraith, 1165 Morrow rd., collided at the inter section of Highway 62 and Bid die rd. at about 3:53 p.m. yester day. Damage was confined to the right front and- side of both ve hicles. There were no injuries, and no citations were issued, of ficers said. Dead line Sunday Classified Is at noon Saturday; 1 a.m. Monday for Monday: other days 5:30 orevious day. Johnny "SIGNS "Anything o Trucks . o Walls o Hi way Signs WANT FAST SERVICE? CALL- T Johnny 2-7488 214 E. 4th i ' n if Now each crackor brsaki Into perfect size for easy eating. Kpt fresh In 6IN-ER-SEAL wax packets Salem U.R) The House, yes terday passed a measure which gives the governor broad emer gency powers in event of enemy attack. It Drovides for taking over the supplies and equipment and for reimbursement xo owners. EXCLUSIVE IN THE MAY JOURNAL Whom will Princess Margaret marry? Will it be the dashing R.A.F. captain Peter Townsend? You'll learn who some ef her other suitors are ... how difficult it is to take her out .'. . where the princess goes on dates ... what happens if she doesn't like some one on the party list? Don't miss this little-known, In side story of "Princess Margaret and Her Beaux." , First step in overcoming e figure problem know your figure type! Here's a personalized plan to put your curves in the right places whether you need to lose or gain weight. 7 days of reducing menus, 7 days of building-up menus plus easy-to-follow exercises. COLOR PAGES OF Summer Fashions Bright Young Stars choost fashiont jor oS -stage hours; Fashions for Two (him and her); Lovable, tabbablt synthetics. ..colorful sewing feature. Plus 33 other articles, stories am) ffiturts Out soita o sli ntuiiitmii. i o Windows o Banners o Sho Cards 1
