WAR & TAXES

Grey River Argus, 8 September 1945, Page 5

WAR & TAXES

U.S.A. PROPOSALS Full Employment TO COME BEFORE TAX REDUCTION. WASHINGTON, Sept. 6. ■ President Truman, in a 16,000-word’ message to Congress, urged the speedy enactment of the Taxation Bill providing limited reductions in 1946. He .stressed that the nation must reconcile itself to the fact that tax reduction opportunities were limited and said that the total war effort could not be liquidated overnight. Estimating the war expenditure for the current fiscal year at about fifty thousand million dollars of the total expenditure of sixty thousand million, President Truman said that with the current receipts at about thirty-six million they faced an estimated deficit of about thirty thousand million in .the current year. Mr. Truman recommended full employment legislation, unemployment compensation up to 25 dollars weekly, and a substantial increase of the present minimum wage level of 40 cents hourly. .He added that it would be necessary, however, for the Goveimment to resist pressure for wage increases which would imperil price ceilings. The President urged legislation creating a fair employment practice committee to prevent employment discriminations, involving race, religion and colour and also legislation strengthening the Labour Department, giving it the supervision of col-, lective bargaining, conciliation and voluntary arbitration. He suggested' that the draft should be contniued for men from 18 to 25 years for two years. - Dealing with lend-lease, Mr. Truman recommended, firstly, the repeal, of the Johnson Act, barring private loans to nations in default on previous lending. Secondly, appropriation of the remaining 550,000,000 dollars authorised by Congress for United States participation in U.N.R.R:A. and consideration of an additional com-! mitment of 1.350,000,000 recommend--ed as the United States additional share by the recent U.N.R.R.A. Council meeting. Mr. Truman foresaw the need also for additional lending power to ensure a rapid successful transition to peace-time world trade. Appropriate. recommendations would be made when they completed the exploratory conversations already begun with their associates. The- President recommended Congress to take early steps to increase members’ salaries from 10,000 to 20,000 dollars. He asked for legislation to expedite the disposal of the ’ large surplus of tonnage of merchant ships and urged prompt resumption of normal operation of the merchant marine to re-establish the nation’s foreign trade. Mr. Truman said he would soon ask Congress for a national health programme to provide adequate medical care for all Americans, and protect them from financial loss and hard- ■ ships resulting from illness and accidents, also a broad comprehensive housing bill.