THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Pox 618
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER . Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1043. at the postoffice at
Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3. 1870.
Wednesday, April 24. 1946
A TERRITORY-WIDE INCOME TAX
1. One percent of the gross revenue from all retail
sales in Alaska.
2. One percent of the gross revenue from services
performed in Alaska. (Not including monies earned in
wages or salaries).
3. One-half of one percent of the gross revenue de
rived from wholesale sales made in the Territory.
4. One-half of one percent of the gross market value
of exports, of all commodiites and materials mined,
caught, produced or processed in the Territory, at the
time of export.
All of the above mentioned taxes are payable by the
retailer, wholesaler, Tenderer of services or exporter,
as the case may be.
The tax must be reported and paid to the Depart
ment of Taxation, Territory of Alaska, within (30)
thirty days following the end of each calendar quarter.
Other companies which operate on a fiscal basis will be
dealt with according to their quarterly returns. Tax
Commissioner will provide appropriate forms.
In all of the legal wording of the Act there is nothing
which states the tax cannot be passed on to the con
sumer. The OPA rules that the tax can be passed on if
it is collected as a tax and so designated at the time of
transaction. Under 50 cents the tax cannot be passed
on. The D, limit of the tax on retail sales means that
only 1 cent may be charged on sales from 50 cents to
$1.49, and 2 cents to $2.49, and so on.
The wholesaler would prepare invoices for the re
tailer with an additional item of !/•> of V, for tax. The
retailer pays the said tax to the wholesaler when he re
mits, and upon sale to the consumer may pass on the
additional Vi of IS making a* charge of W>c/( on the
bill. It seems the tax pyramids with each succeeding
transaction as also does the method for collecting or
passing it on.
A wholesaler is one who does not sell to the ultimate
consumer.
A merchant selling to a hotel, restaurant, hospital, or
another retail dealer is a wholesaler, and is responsible
for the M* of 1% tax.
Restaurants may collect the tax from the customer
who eats at the restaurant.
Wholesale and retail business may be transacted by
any one merchant.
Business concerns should keep adequate records to
show the portion of business transacted under whole
sale and retail, in order to designate the amounts of
gross income taxable at Vi of 1%, and at 1% and at
V/o%.
Sales made to the Territory or its agencies are tax
able, but the tax may not be passed on to the Territory. I
A merchant selling large quantities of goods or serv-,
ices to the Territory or Federal Government, and hav
ing to absorb the tax, may seek relief through the OPA i
for an adjustment on price ceilings, in order that no
great hardships may result from the collection of the
tax.
The Act is extremely broad and covers all business!
done in the Territory and is primarily for the purpose
of raising funds to carry out the various measures in
the Veterans Bill.
A LIMITED DRAFT
(Rocky Mountain News)
Prospects for draft extension until sufficient volun
teers are obtained seem better. This should be must
legislation.
It would not have been necessary if Congress and the
TNftTC no MISSOURI MUCf, IS IT, MARRY ?_
army several months ago had offered more inducements
to volunteers. But now temporary continuation of the
Selective Service system beyond May 15 is the only
alternative to unpreparedness during this world crisis.
Committees of Congress have recommended draft ex
tension—the Senate for one year and the House for nine
months. In both cases the length of service would be
limited to 18 months. Ceilings for total military strength
as of July 1947, would be those requested by the serv
ices: army, 1,070,000; navy, 558,000; marine corps,
108,000.
There are still many members of Congress who want
to postpone operation of the new draft until after the
November elections. This ruse would make a joke of
the whole thing. There has been too much delay al
ready. Our depleted army must have a steady flow of
replacements quickly.
Another controversial issue concerns exemptions.
The top age probably will be 29, possibly with exemp
tions for fathers. The hottest fight will come over the
minimum age. Widespread opposition to taking boys
under 20 has been strengthened by General Eisenhow
er’s admission that teen-agers are not well-adapted for
our armies of occupation. But can the quotas be filled
without teen-agers?
The answer to this, as to other draft questions, turns
on the success of getting volunteers. We think it is im
portant that the proposed pay increases to stimulate vol
unteering be included in the draft legislation, and that
the monthly draft quotas fall as the stimulated enlist
ments rise.
Because the public will not approve permanent peace
time conscription, and because a volunteer army is
more efficiency, the necessary draft extension merely
postpones the real problem.
By MARY LEE COUNCIL
Secretary to E. L. (Bob) Bartlett* Delegate to Congress from Alaska
A._ -
ALASKA RAILROAD
RETIREMENT
Reduction in the voluntary re
tirement age of Alaska Railroad
employees from 60 to 55 years af
ter 30 years’ service is one of the
provisions of a bill recently intro
duced by Delegate Bartlett.
Th» measure includes four ad
ditional amendments to The Alas
ka Railroad Retirement Act af
fecting survivors’ benefits, volun
tary contributions of The Alaska
Railroad fund, annuities for five
years’ service or more and amount
of annuities.
In lieu of a life annuity, an em
ployee could elect to accept a re
duced annuity payable to him
during his life and an annuity af
ter his death payable to his bene
ficiary undpr the new bill. The
employee could, at his option, de
posit additional sums not to ex
ceed 10% of his annual basic sal
ary in The Alaska Railroad retire
ment and disability fund above
the present compulsory 5% of his
annual basic salary. %
A fourth amendment would
bring The Alaska Railroad Retire
ment Act in line with the Civil
Service Act forbidding upon sep
aration from employment with
drawal of retirement deductions
in a lump sum after working for
five years or more. Lump-sum
withdrawal could be made for '.ess
than five years’ service, upon sep
aration from employment, but af- ‘
ter five years’ service, upon separ
ation from employment, but aftevr
five years the withdrawals would
be had in the form of annuities.
Provision is made in the f:fth
amendment, in line with the Pan-^
ama Canal and Civil Service Acts,
that an annuity shall not be “less
than an amount equal to the aver
age annual basic salary, pay or
compensation received by the em
ployee during any five consecu
tive years of allowable service a4,
the option of the employee, mul
tiplied by the number of years in
service, not exceeding thirty-five
years, and divided by seventy"
EMERGENCY HOUSING
Between 400 and 500 army and
navy surplus housing units may
be alloted to municipalities in
Alaska under the terms of two re
cent Congressional acts, according
to information given Delegate
Bartlett by Jesse Epstein. Region
al Director in Seattle of the Fed
eral Public Housing Authority,
who has been in Washington for a
regional conference.
Three members of Mr. Epstein’.'
staff will go to Alaska during the
next week in connection with this
emergency housing program for
veterans. Mr. Epstein plans to go
north from Seattle in about six
weeks. 4
Under the terms of the pro
gram, the federal government
would contribute the housing
units but municipalities must pro
vide the land and utilities. It is
estimated the value of the federal
contribution in Alaska will run as
high as $1,250,000. Mr. Epstein ir^
formed Delegate Bartlett that ap
plications under this program
have already been received from
several Alaska communities.
CANNED SALMON
The government portion of the
1916 canned Salmon pack is ear
marked almost entirely for for
eipi consumption, according to in
formation obtained by Delegate
Bartlett from the Department of
Agriculture. ~
By recent war food order, 33%
of the total pack will be set aside
for government use, and the re
maining 67% may be sold to pri
vate persons. The bulk of the gov
ernment portion will go to the
United Kingdom, with Belgium
and the Netherlands East Indies
also sharing. A smaller portion
will be allotted to a pool called
“commercial exports” to go to
South American countries. At tflfe
present time the needs of the
army and navy are estimated at
9,000,000 pounds from the 33%
portion of the government set
aside. but there are indications the
armed forces may not require any
part of this amount. In the begin
ning of 1945, 80% of the canned
salmon pack for that year was ap
portioned to the government Ifcr
use by the armed forces, but this
was gradually reduced to 30% in
the latter part of 1945, or approx
imately 20,000,000 pounds.