Changes In North Carolina Sales Tax Being Studied
Levy In State
Faces Changes
Possibility of 1 Per Cent
“Gross Receipts” Levy
Comes in For Study
Raleigh.—With practically all
doubt regarding the retention of
the state’s 3 per cent sales tax. hav
ing been removed, members-elect of
the North Carolina General Assem
bly convening here January 9, as
well as others interested in such
legislation are turning their atten
tion toward a study of sales tax acts
now on statute books of other
states.
A compilation, just made shows
half of the nation’s 48 states now
have in operation some form of a
sales tax and that in all but two
of them it is in the form of an
emergency measure and' subject to
revision or repeal* at the next ses
sions of the several state legislatures.
North Carolina’s sales tax, which
exempts from taxation nine basic
food commodities, is virtually cer
tain to undergo changes in the com
ing session of the legislature. It has
not brought in the revenue it was
estimated to bring in and there is
a rather widespread feeling that the
avAmrSt-irvnr nri 11 ■ K/> oil m'l n _
r*— -1
ated in the hope that the collections
will be considerably larger.
Chief objection to the elimination
of the food exemptions, however,
is that it would make the .tax more
burdensome on the poor, but ad
vocates of the exemption plan as
sert that if all exemptions were re
moved it would make the tax easier
to collect for the merchants as well
as the State Revenue department. It
is said the exemptions have offered
many loopholes for those who would
like to evade the tax and that many
have evaded it by reason of such
exemptions.
The present state sales tax is one
that day in and day out makes the
public tax conscious. Efforts un
doubtedly will be made in the next
legislature to provide a system that
will make the tax less obnoxious if
possible.
It is reported here on reasonably
good authority that at least three
state senators-elect have spent more
time and effort since the June pri
maries to develop a sales tax pro
gram to replace the one now in ef
fect if it is found the sales tax as a
revenue measure for emergency use
must be retained. The word is out
that if Governor Ehringhaus, who
has indicated rather strongly he will
ask re-enactment of the sales tax,
makes no definite recommendation
regarding the form of sales tax,
to be put into effect, one or more
of the plans now being studied will
be pushed.
n 11 *1... 1 ...
A.CLU1U5 JUUW cigiu aidt« udTt, ui
have had, a tax on gross receipts, or
gross income of all corporations and
all individuals. By virtue of the
levy being spread out, it is argued,
so as to include everybody and every
activity, the rate naturally is much
lower than the 3 per cent now in
effect on retail sales to consumers
in North Carolina.
Persons who have been .working
on yields and estimates are in agree
ment to a great extent that, if a
"gross receipts” measure is adopted
without exemptions, around $12,
000,000 can be raised on a 1 per
cent rate. Advocates of such a
plan feel it would serve to bring
about a compromise with the. retail
merchants of the state.
The gross income tax law of
South Dakota, which was enacted
in February, 1933, and which has
a 1 per cent base, also is coming in
for quite a bit or attention. It is
said fo be "painless and non-irritat
in»’! and the state, which has a po
pulation of only 693,000 as com
pared with North Carolina’s 3,300,
000 or more, is said to be getting an
annual return of about $3,600,000.
The cost of collection of such a tax
is said to be low.
, Those who have studied this plan
say tlie only important exemptions
Texiu Lady Tell* How ~
' Dladk-Draught Lax&tiva
Helps All Her Family
Herb’s how Black-Draught filli
the needs of a family laxative in
the home of Mrs. J. S. Stoker, Fort
Worth, Texas: “The grown-ups
In my family,” she writes, “have
always taken powdered Thedford’a
Black-Draught for biliousness,
headaches and other ailments (due
to constipation) and found it a re
liable remedy. I was very pleased
when I saw Syrup of Black
Draught advertised. I bought U
and gave it to my little daughters
ages 6 and 4. They needed some
thing to cleanse their systems amt
Syrup of Black-Draught acte<
well.” ... Your druggist sells thi
reliable laxative in both forms
•‘Children like the Syrup.”
Whole Humming Bird Family in Teaspoon
NEW; YORK . . . Here if a remarkable photograph showing a whole
humming bird family living in a teaspoon. The mother is a ruby-throated
humming bird. The photo was taken at the Bronx Zoo here by Dr. C. W.
Leister and Dr. A. A. Allen.
J extended are to those classes of
business which are taxed upon the
basis of gross earnings by a prev
iously existing law, farm and agri
cultural products are also exempted
except the production and sale of
livestock for profit.
The fate on manufacturers is
said to be quite low, being but one
fourth of one per cent. It is argued
that this one item alone in North
Carolina at the same rate would
yield about $3,000,000 yearly with
out penalizing any one particular
company or industry to any great
extent. It also is argued the tax
could be invisibly passed on to con
sumers the world over.
| Under the South Dakota plan,
wholesale sales are taxed one-fourth
of one per cent, while the levy on
retail sales is one per cent. On
smaller items this is absorbed by
the retailer, but on higher priced
articles he is given latitude and the
price to the customer is arranged to
include the tax. This is said to
be so arranged that it reimburses the
merchant for any discrepancy or
loss on the absorption of the low
priced articles.
Gross earnings of banks pay 1
per cent. Amusements and amuse
ment companies pay the same rate
as do transportation companies.
Real estate sales, trades and trans
actions also pay a 1 per cent levy.
Mining and forestry* products are
taxed 1 per cent also.
Probably the most interesting
feature of the South Dakota plan is
that employers deduct from salaries
or wages at time of payment a slid
ing scale ranging from 1 per cent
!up to $2,000 to two per cent at
$$,000, or any amount in excess.
I Fees for personal or professional
services are taxed in similar manner.
No names can be used just yet
regarding the identity of advocates
of the South Dakota plan, but one
such advocate had this to say about
it:
"To many persons who have
studied the South Dakota plan, it
appears sound and scientific with
very low cost of collection. The
rates are low and it is non-duplicat
ing. A man who has no income
and no job pays no tax. In other
words, it is the general sales tax re
versed to a fair and workable basis.”
The idea that schools are for
children only will be badly out of
date in the next few years.
SUMMER TIME IS BUS TIME
FARES are the LOWEST in HISTORY
COOL! COMFORTABLE! SAFE!
_FARES FROM SALISBURY:_
I One Round
Way Trip
Norfolk, Va. _$5.05 $9.10
Richmond, Va._ 3.85 6.95
Washington, D. C. 4.80 8.65
New York, N. Y.„ 9.20 16.60
Atlanta, Ga._5.10 9.20
Birmingham, Ala. 6.50 11.70
Memphis, Tenn._9.65 17.40
Miami, Fla. _12.50 22.50
One Round
Way Trip S
Charlotte_.70 $1.30
Concord _ .40 .75
Lexington _ .25 .50
High Point_.55 1.00
Greensboro_.80 1.45
Burlington _ 1.20 2.20
Durham _ 1.70 3.10
Raleigh _ 2.20 4.06
You can’t afford to use your car while fares
are so low.
C A \7C Wear and tear on your nerves
^ Wear and tear on your car.
CAROLINA COACH CO.
SALISBURY CHINA GROVE
Union Bus Station—Phone 1751 Cline Hotel
DJER-KISS SACHET '
i> f
'~Tlie /Ocwlezed
- r~jr y-'■r* ’ o
_
Here is an early Holiday Suggestion.
Nothing you can possibly give any
woman will be better appreciated
than Djer-Kiss Sachet or Djer-Kiss
Perfume. Djer-Kiss Sachet is the
inimitable Djer-Kiss fragrance in
powder form to give a delightful
long-lasting fragrance to lingerie
and wearing apparel — the Djer
Kiss perfume is recognized as one
of the world’s great odeurs.
Perfume
1 $200
U. S. Report Shows
Greater Employment
Heat Retards Sale of Heavy Goods; Flow of Farm
er’s Gold Slows Down After Summer Spending
Washington. — October saw
strikes fewer and smaller, with
thousands of employes resuming
work. The rush of retail buying
evoked by crop returns and big re
lief payments eased off slightly.
Drouth still affected trade in south
western cotton and wheat sections.
Many cities reported warm weather
retarding heavy goods sales at re
tail Manufacturing, retail buying
and wholesaling made good com*
parisons with September and with
October a year ago. Collections
were the best in months.
Combined stock price averages
were up two points on the smallest
October business since 1921. Bond
sales were' larger, but prices drop
ped 1 1-2 points.
Cotton goods and steel produc
tion gained. Steel scrap advanced
twice. Automobile making drop
sped off. Lumber output fell.
Predictions are that price regu
lation in cotton may lose this coun
try a large part of its chief single
export.
Weakness in farm products was
marked in October, the Dun &
Bradstreet Index dropping 2 per
cent from the four year peak.
Control Mice Damage
With Poisoned Bait
Field mice are an orchard pest
that most fruit growers are un
aware of until it is too late to save
their trees, says H. R. Niswonger,
extension horticulturist at State
College.
Most of the mouse damage, he
says, occurs during the winter
months in orchards where a hea-vy
od covers the ground.
The mice work just beneath the
surface and are not noticed until
the trees begin to die or fail to bud
in the spring. At first the dam
age may be slight, but eventually
the mice eat away the bark from
the trunk a few inches below the
soil so as to completely gridle the
tree.
| The common meadow mouse
migrates to the orchards when
their food supply in the open nelds
becomes scarce. The short-tailed
pine mouse is most destructive, do
ing worst damage to orchards
growing near timbered areas.
Niswonger urges orchardists to
examine the areas around their
trees, looking for mice runways and
injuries to the trees. If evidence of
mice is found, they can be destroy
ed by putting out wheat bait which. (
has been poisoned with strychnine^
Detailed information how to mix
the bait and place it around the
trees may be obtained free from
the horticultural department of
State College in Raleigh.
As a supplementary' control
measure, Niswonger Suggests the
digging up of grass and Weeds und
er the trees. This breaks up the
tunnels and runways ahd causes the
mice to seek their food in areas
farther from the trees.
Few farmers will join in giving
thanks for bumper crops.
I E print anything from a i x 2 inch form to large
ones 31 x 44 inches.
No matter how small or large your order may be in
size or numbers if it can be printed we can do it and
you have the assurance of a fair honest price with a
guarantee of complete satisfaction with every order.
Equal advantages to all with special privileges to none
is our motto. You pay the same for your printing here
that your neighbor or competitor pays. If we charge
you less we must charge him more and the vice versa
is also true. We do not charge one price today and an
other price next week for the same type of printing. If
we sell you a job below cost you or some one else must
pay for it sooner or later. Such methods place a doubt
in your mind as to the ethics of this kind of business.
Our special privilege to you-—one and all is
SERVICE . . QUALITY . . SATISFACTION
with a guarantee backed by more than one hundred
years of experience.
I The
(Watchman Printshop I
Creative Printers |
"SINCE 1832” 1
119 E. Fisher St. Phone 133 |