Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 February 1919 — GET READY TO PAY YOUR TAX ON LUXURIES NOW [ARTICLE]

GET READY TO PAY YOUR TAX ON LUXURIES NOW

Signing of the revnue bill by President Wilson on his special train en route to Washington Monday puts into operation the machinery for collecting $6,000,000,000 taxes this year. Higher taxes provided in the bill went into effect Tuesday on liquor and soft drinks, including near-beer, Bryan highballs (grape juice), soda waters, mineral waiters and on tobaccos and other so-called luxuries. Anticipating the imposition of new taxes, thousands of gallons of whiskey had been withdrawn from the government warehouses within the last week, with tax paid at the old rate of $4.20 per gallon, to escape the higher rate of $6.40 a gallon. Articles in the “luxury” class on which the taxes went into effect include automobiles and motor accessories, pianos, sporting goods, chewing gum, cameras, candy, firearms, slot machines, toilet soaps and art goods. The tax is paid by the manufacturer. Other features of the tax bill which went into legal effect, but which are retroactive, and which consequently ’are not practically affected by the time of the signing of the bill include the following: Taxes on incomes, excess profits and war profits; estates ahd inheritances, and excise taxes on a number of special businesses, such as brokers, bowling alleys, insurance companies, theatres and amusement place proprietors and liquor dealers.