OCR Text |
Show HEW TAX DILL IS MEM SECRETARY HOOVER CLAIMS BILL WILL WORK AGAINST SMALL BUSINESS MEN Large Business Will Prosper at Expense Ex-pense of Small Ones; Recites Period of 1867 to 1872 As Example of Result Washington. Secretary Hoover, in a formal statement declared that tne provision of the new tax bill opening tax returns for inspection, will Jeopardize Jeop-ardize small business and place it at the mercy of larger competitors. The secretary recalled that publicity pub-licity of tax returns during the period of 1867 to 1872 contributed to "the industrial and financial chaos of the time," and charged that the provision of the new tax bill opens new fields for fraudulent concerns. "I am advised that the provision in the tax bill that tax returns shall be open to inspection is so worded that they may not even have the very indefinite protection which lies around other 'public documents,' " said Mr. Hoover. "Even the protec tion of 'public documents' is insufficient insuffi-cient guarantee of confidential character. char-acter. "We thus have serious' jeopardy that a man's business may be revealed reveal-ed to his competitors. Large corporations corpor-ations already publish these facts through reports to stockholders and this requirement, therefore, does not materially affect them. Such publication publi-cation would be likely to become the basis of credit rating in the smaller businesses, and the vital factor of character and reputation will be undermined un-dermined by the tax return of any bad year, thus working grave injustice injus-tice on firms undergoing momentary losses or those that are unavoidable in times of depression. "It will enable strong competitors to take advantage of temporary-weak temporary-weak condition of smaller concerns, and on the other hand, fraudulent concerns would gladly pay a few thousand dollars a year, falsely disguised dis-guised as profit, in order to mislead the public. Pei pie who wish to disguise dis-guise their wealth will be stimulated to further evasion. It can add nothing to revenue returns. "It may be recalled that publicity of tax returns, which was required during the period of 1807 to 1872, contributed to the industrial and financial fi-nancial chaos of 'the time. One serious ser-ious effect might be to undermine confidence in the whole system of taxes and incomes, which would be a great pity." |