Word: ept
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...tempting green pasture, but were stopped by the troll who lurked underneath. Last week Speaker Joe Martin and his congressional captains looked longingly at the pasture labeled excess profits tax extension, where a succulent $800 million in revenues lies waiting. The President had insisted that Congress extend EPT for six months from its July 1 expiration in order to keep up sagging revenues. But extension depended largely on the attitude of the Ways & Means Committee, and guarding the committee was a gruff old troll named Dan Reed...
...well-run companies that keep their debt low can only choose a profits base-and then be penalized when greater efficiency increases their profits. To make allowance for such inequities, Congress included so many exemptions and exceptions that no two accountants can agree on a company's EPT bill. As a result, virtually every payment has been protested. Another discriminatory result is that EPT affects only 15% of all corporations paying taxes and consequently yields comparatively little revenue (only $2 billion a year out of a total of $21 billion in corporate taxes paid last year...
...return so low that small companies have found it difficult or impossible to borrow money needed for expansion. Example: Georgia's Southwire Co., which saw an opportunity to cash in on the South's utility expansion, had the ill luck to go into business in 1950 after EPT. It was able to make only 1¼% profit despite a tripling of sales-a return so low that banks would not risk giving it a loan. Michigan's Whirlpool Corp. (washing machines) doubled its sales during the EPT period and made $28 million in profits (before taxes...
...EPT's topsy-turvy world, the accepted standards of business thrift and prudence go out the window. Companies in the EPT bracket have no hesitation spending money on extravagant projects. Example: Reynolds Metals Co., wanting to show off its new Jamaica bauxite mines, chartered an ocean liner and gave 130 bigwig guests an eight-day cruise to Jamaica and back. Of the total cost, the company really picked up only 18% of the check. The remaining 82% was EPT money which, if not spent, would have gone to the U.S. Treasury...
...Administration's decision to ask EPT's extension is based simply on the belief that Congress would not pass alternative measures-such as a small, temporary boost in the regular corporate-income-tax rate-to yield an equivalent revenue. Though Secretary Humphrey predicts that the tax will be extended, there is a good possibility that Congress may kill it, since it can do so by simply doing nothing. If EPT does die, it will hardly be a national tragedy. And the $800 million predicted yield for a six-month extension may be made up by increased collections...