Labor Opposes Levies
HittingtLower Incomes
“Labor generally, and especially"
insofar as the Alaska Territorial
Federation of Labor is concerned,
is opposed to any tax which bur
dens the lower income group,”
Thomas J. Moore, Executive Sec
retary of the ATF of L said in re
ply to questions regarding the tax
program now planned for Alaska.
Mr. Moore stated that he felt
Attorney General Ralph Rivers re
view’ of tax bills to be introduced
in the special session of the Ter
ritorial Legislature pointed to a
well-balanced tax plan for Alas
ka. "However,” Mr. Moore said,
“caution must be exercised. Under
no conditions will Labor in Alaska
sanction a sales tax or encourage
taxes on such items as amuse
ments, utility bills and on the doz
ens of necessities so often taxed
out of all proportion to the income
of the group paying the bulk of
these ‘nuisance’ taxes.”
Quoting in part a recent release
prepared by the Workers Educa
tion Bureau of America and writ
ten by Arthur A. Elder, Consultant
to the American Federation of La
bor’s Committee On Taxation. Mr.
Moore made the following points:
“ ‘Alarmists are all too ready to
point to the huge (national' tax
bill and declare that our economy
is going to the bow-wows. Intelli
gent members of organized Labor,
however, raise only two pertinent
questions regarding the desirabili
ty of one-fourth of our present na
tional income being devoted to de
fraying the costs of government.
They ask first whether the pre
sent tax burden is necessary. Their
second very natural question is
how the tax burden affects the
economy. It is obvious that a tax
policy that unduly burdens one
sector or another of our economy
may be one of the major contrib
uting factors to a future depres
sion.
We cannot escape the con
clusion that taxes should remain
high, certainly as long as the pre
sent inflationary trends continue
and income and production con
tinue at a high level. And it fol
lows that any shifting of the tax
burden to the low income groups
over a period of time, therefore,
will result in decreased purchasing
power that will be reflected in a
falling of consumption and pro
duction that will invite depression.
“ ‘This shifting sanctioned by the
Seventy-ninth and Eightieth Con
gresses has already reached dan
gerous proportions. The decline in
corporation income tax collections
of from $15.5 billion in 1945 to $9.1
billion in 1947 has been accompan
ied by steadily rising prices.
Whether the rising prices were or
were not stimulated by the cut in
taxes is beside the point. The im
portant fact is that while taxes on
corporations declined $6.4 billion
yearly, taxes on consumers in the
form of levies on sales, use and
gross receipts increased approxim
ately $3 billion yearly. During the
same period the cost of living in
dex rose from 128.4 to 158.5 while
corporation profits increased from
$8.9 billion to $16.9 billion after
taxes.
“ ‘The two successive reductions
in the personal income tax which
chiefly benefited those in the up
per income tax brackets also com
bined with the cut in corporation
income tax—to increase the pro
portion of total tax revenue se
cured from taxes on consump
tion’.”
Mr. Moore concluded by pointing
out that Mr. Adler states, “ ‘usual
ly the substitute tax program is
not based on the ability to pay and
bears more heavily on the workers
than would a moderate increase
in real estate tax or a state (or
territory) imposed locally-sharea
income tax that provides suitable
i exemptions.’ ”
Moore added that he had no
specific recommendations to make
until such time as the planned tax
bills were* introduced and could be
studied by his and other Labor
and progressive organizations.
It was reported that Martin Lan
ning is seriously ill in the Seward
General Hospital. He is permitted
to receive visitors at the present
time.
I
j Do you know your house number?
You Are Invited to Attend a Mission!
where you will hear
Father
Francis i Toner, S. J.
at the
SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH
Fr. Martin Borbeck, S.J., Pastor
EACH AFTERNOON at 4:00
EACH EVENING at 7:30
I Jan. 30-Feb. 4
Father Toner is one of four brothers who are Catholic
Priests. A Gonzaga graduate, he is well known in
Spokane, Wash., and the Pacific Coast as a speaker.
In October he finished a “Mission Tour” which took
him to Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York and
Boston.
WHAT IS A MISSION?
Asked to explain the purpose of a Mission, Father
Toner said, “Life is a serious business, just as any
business is serious. A successful business man takes
inventory often; examines his credits and debits. A
Mission is a time of inventory, a time of looking at
the debits and credits of the past and learning from
them, so that we may live more successfully and more
abundantly in the future.”
• • •
Subjects
Same subjects for afternoon
and evening.
SUNDAY—
“The Purpose of Life*
MONDAY—
“The Obstacles of Life”
TUESDAY—
“Life's Failure"
WEDNESDAY—
“The Beginning of Life
THURSDAY—
“The Renewal of Life"
FRIDAY—
“Eternal Life"
Week Day Masses at 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Second Mass is followed by period
of instractioxl
Although the Mission is Conducted Chiefly for Catholics,
All Others are Welcome!
• . :i v'." ... •
i.A :
Ip
II.N. Extends Control Over Narcotics
The General Assembly of the United Nations recently approved a
new protocol extending international control over a number of,
synthetic drugs which had been developed in recent years and had 1
remained outside the scope of previous conventions on the control
of narcotics. Above are some of the drugs brought under inter
national control by the new Protocol. Previous conventions covered
only natural narcotics, such as opium, cocaine and morphine.
Dr. Lawrence M. Lowell, new
surgeon at the Seward Sanatorium
was expected to arrive in Seward
on the SS Alaska Friday after- J
noon.
“Does your husband remember '
your wedding anniversary?”
“No. So I remind him of it in
March and again in September
and get two presents instead of
one.”
i
!
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permitted by statute to carry legal advertising.
Commercial Printing
—The plant of the Seward Seaport Record is
equipped to do any printing job that can be
done in Alaska—especially equipped for long
and difficult runs.
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