America's Finances
The United States House of Representatives, with a Budget deficit of 1,241,000,000 dollars (£248,000,000 at par) to face, displayed last Thursday what appeared at first sight to be astonishing irresponsibility in rejecting a Sales Tax Bill that would have brought in 560,000,000 dollars as contribution to the shortage. Even that has created less consternation than the fact that party discipline was cast to the winds, the 223 votes- which. :defeated the Bill (against a minority of 153) being drawn indiscriminately from both camps.- But in this case the majority seems to haVe had perfectly clear views, It con- sidered that the Sales Tak penalized the poormorethan the rich, and on Tuesday, after an impassioned appeal from the Democratic Speaker, Mr. John Garner, and also after . a Wall Street slump and a sharp fall in the dollar exchange, it began to vote post-haste a series of alternative taxes, including higher, Income Tax, - higher postage rates, Various luxury taxes and an impost on stock sales, estimated to bring in altogether new revenue to the amount of 1,261,000,000 dollars, enough to liquidate the deficit and leave a small surplus: The substitute programme is a stop-gap affair, but its probable adoption has restored confidence for the present.
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