U.S. INCOME TAX CUTS DESPITE PRESIDENTIAL VETO

Grey River Argus, 5 April 1948, Page 3

U.S. INCOME TAX CUTS DESPITE PRESIDENTIAL VETO

WASHINGTON, April 3.

President Truman has vetoed the 4,800,000,000-dollars Income Tax Reduction Bill, telling Congress it would “undermine the soundness of our Government finances at a time when world peace depends upon the strength of the United States”. The President criticised the Republicansponsored measure passed by both Houses as “inequitable as well as untimely”. Congressional leaders expected the veto, and prepared for a quick vote to pass the Bill over Mr Truman’s disapproval. This requires a two-thirds majority of both Houses and the Senate.' Three hours later Congress enacted the Bill into law over the Presidential veto, and the Senate clinched the issue by voting 77 to 10. £ The Bill, which became law immediately, eliminates 7,400,000 persons from the tax rolls, and gives relief to all others. President Truman’s signature makes immediately available for the first emergency operation of the long-delaved Marshall Plan an advance of "one thousand million dollars from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Congress has still to pass an Appropriation Bill to make available the balance of the amount mentioned in to-day’s new Act. A skeleton interim organisation will start work in the State Department on Monday on plans for the procurement and the shipment of the goods. At the end of thirty days, this skeleton organisation will be replaced by a new Government agency, the Economic Co-operation Administration, the head of which will be appointed at a salary of twenty thousand dollars a year. The name most prominently mentioned for the pose is Mr Paul Hoffman, the president of the Studebaker Corporation.