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Show Spending Cuts Tax Revision I By Bruce CaHon WASHINGTON If ths busl- ' ness world is going to get any "appeasement" of a financial nature na-ture from the government thia spring, It will almost certainly consist chiefly of "tax revisions. There is practically no hope of a substantial cut in government spending at thai tims, snd anything any-thing remotely like a balanced budget is out of the question. Indeed, even the tax revisions won't add up te so much in actual dollars and cents. Yet the revisions revi-sions are eegerry swaited, and ths slightest congressional moves toward s e e a e m y are loudly cheered. Proving, no doubt that it isn't the money so much as it is the principle of the thing. That as a matter of fact expresses ex-presses It perfectly. It lent ths size of the savings or ths sums te be saved through tax revisions that are important It Is the simple sim-ple fact that sems saving and some revisions mey be made, Leek at Figaros For ths fiscal year ending next June, the treasury department estimates es-timates that the government's income in-come wiU be about t4.5ao.000.000. Budgeted expenditures for the eame parted are roughly $9.4ti.-000,000, $9.4ti.-000,000, thus producing a deficit tor the year of $3.T2.000.000. Taking those figures aa standard, stand-ard, then, take the expenditures an try te see where any savings big enough te make a real dent in the deficit could be made. Government departments, $J2.-000.000. $J2.-000.000. Public works (less emergency aad relief projects), $378,000,000. Navy. $374,000,000. Army, 1453,000.000. Veterans' benefits and pensions, $340,000,000. Recovery and relief. $2,437,000,-000. $2,437,000,-000. AAA, $707,000,000. C C C, $200,000,000. Social security. $330,000,000. Interest on public debt $7t ooo.ooo. Debt retirement $100,000,000. Revolving funds (farm credit administraUoa, RFC etc.), $13,- 000,000. Old ags reserve, railroad retirement retire-ment civil service retirement, tsss.ooo.ooa Refunds on taxes, customs, processing levies, SS.00O.0O0. Supplementary (deficiency appropriations, ap-propriations, ate.), tMO.000,000. Go down that list and try to find a spot for a substantial slash that would really mean something to the deficit Meet Caste Mounting The reorganization bill when and if passed will effect its savings sav-ings la ths regular government departments, whose total allowance allow-ance is only 000,000. Army and navy fund will go up, not down. Veterans' funds meet certainly cer-tainly won't be cut A house effort to cut T V A failed. The shaving of 1134,000,000 eft the W P A deficiency appropriation appro-priation eame only after a terrific tight carried by one vote and may yet be reversed. If ths social security figure goee anywhere it will be up. net down. C C C won't be touched. Triple A wtU almost eeruuauy, get , more money, not less. Interest on ths dsbt can't be touched. So "appeasemsnt" has to corns out of the other end of the horn. Here something tangible probably will be done. Present indications are that tha administration will agree to substantial sub-stantial modifications in tha capital cap-ital gains and leasee end corporation corpora-tion surplus taxes. Ths capital stock tax and excess profits tax may also be toned down. Lower income taxes for ths ' higher b racketeers are probable. Psychology's Rote In actual cash, none of these reductions re-ductions would amount to much, compared with the tremendous sums involved in the total tax biu. Ths psychological effect though, might be vast proving, once more, that It isn't the money, but the principle of the thing. In the long run, a balanced budget seems to rest oa businsse improvement which, in turn, msy wall rest on just such psychological psy-chological considerations The treasury figure that with a national income of $70,000,000,-000, $70,000,000,-000, our present tax rates would bring in six billions. If Income rises to $80,000.000,000,. the government's gov-ernment's income would rise to eight billions. And. since a national income of (0 billions would mean lota of reemployment and hence a big cut in relief easts, that sight billion bil-lion dollar government In some would probably give us a balanced budget Copyright, IMS, NIA Service, In. |