Show THIS WEEK in washington with WA clinton davidson Davi 0 ov I 1 d goa 4 9 4 k A PLAN there Is si 9 good hance that 4 before congress goes home it will make available a self financing retirement or pension penion program for some twenty million self employed am eri cans such a program is long overdue over r due du because of the tax laws self employed people such as doctors lawyers dentists farmers and merchants have been denied the advantages of retirement plans available to most employees irk in government and industry under present lawi law costs of a retirement plan partly financed by employers and partly by employees are kot hot taxable as income A self em aloyed person however must pay income taxes on money used to finance a retirement program bills to enable self employ ed to set aside a portion of their income before taxes to finance a retirement plan have been introduced in every congress tor for the past ten years most of them have been opposed by the treasury department A good start one of the first bills introduced ahen hen the present congress convened last january was lift 10 by rep eugene J keogh new york democrat to encourage the establishment of voluntary pension or retirement plans by self em aloyed people later identical bills were introduced by 19 other congressmen within a 91 few weeks the house ways and means committee had considered the proposal and voted IS 18 to 5 to report favorably on the keogh bill and to recommend to congress that prompt action be taken on passage A somewhat similar although not identical bill by sen george smathers of florida has been introduced and is a waiting awaiting hearings in the senate another bill along the same lines as IM 10 was introduced by sen wallace F r bennett of utah A matter manor of justice the me intent of this legislation tion sen deneutte said Is to give equality of 0 opportunity p to the self belt employed employ e d to set side aside a portion of their income for their old age in muc much h the same manner in which corporate employees now contribute to company operated pension plans 11 it would make owne owners of a company eligible to par participate tiel iq in a retirement plan similar amilar to that available to their employees but would umit limit the amount they their could set aside add to the smaller of 2900 2500 a year or 10 percent of their a income corn As an a general rule ride retirement benefits received by would b bo taxed as ordinary income at the time received retirement funds could be invested with a bank as an trustee or used to purchase retirement annuities from an insurance torn company pany the senate finance committee which has the bills under consideration reported favorably on a similar measure last pearlt year it is to be hoped that congress will not aagon Vot postpone pone action on this important proposal |