Taxes: Biggest Ever

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President Truman last week presented Congress with his long-awaited tax plan. It was a one-two punch. He wanted $10 billion in new taxes right away; a request for the remaining $6.5 billion needed to make up the estimated $16.5 billion deficit in his new budget would be along later. The President outlined his proposals in a formal message to Congress. This week Secretary of the Treasury John Snyder filled in some details in testimony before the House Ways & Means Committee. The Administration proposed: ¶A $4 billion increase in personal income taxes, adding $4 in new taxes for every $100 of income after deductions and exemptions.

¶A $3 billion increase in corporation taxes, upping the normal maximum rate from the present 47% to 55%. ¶A $3 billion "selective" increase in excise taxes on nonessential consumer goods and products that used materials in short supply. Suggested boosts: gasoline up 1½¢ a gallon, cigarettes up 3¢ a pack, whisky up $3 a gallon; taxes on radios, television sets, household appliances (now 10%) to be raised to 25%, on automobiles (now 7%) to 20%.

¶Plugging tax loopholes in estate and gift taxes, an increase in capital-gains taxes (now 25%) to 37½%, a cut in the special allowance permitted oil and gas producers (now 27½%) to 15%.

If Congress approved, the new bill would raise the total federal tax for the year to an estimated $65 billion—the biggest tax levy in history.