Oregon defeats new
sales tax attempt

PORTLAND

British Columbians opposing their Social: Credit govern-
ment’s five percent sales tax can take heart from Oregonians
who have just defeated the seventh attempt in the past 25
years to impose a sales tax on them.

A bill setting the date for a
special referendum election on
adoption of a sales tax has
been killed in the Oregon leg-
islature despite a strong cam-
paign for its adoption con-
ducted by chambers of com-
merce and other business in-
terests.

Oregon relies heavily on the
net income tax, which pro-
duced 40 percent of the state’s
revenues :in 1955.

Sponsors of the sales tax
proposal included it in a pack-
age deal, along with a proposal
to increase the personal ex-
emption in the income tax if
the sales tax passed the voters.
In spite of this sugar coating,
the bill is now dead, killed by
labor and other opposition.

The labor lobby was quite .

effective, having representa-
tion from CIO-AFL, the Team-
sters, the Railway Brother-
hoods and the International
Longshoremen — all opposed
to a sales tax.

This is the seventh time that
Oregon voters have defeated
sales tax proposals either in
referendum votes or through
pressure on their legislature.

@A_ straight sales _ tax,
passed by the legislature in
1933 and submitted to the peo-
ple in a special election, was
defeated 167,512 to 45,603.

@ A sales tax measure ear-
marked for “school relief” and
offered in another special ref-

erendum election in 1934 was
also defeated.

@ Oregon voters’ turned
thumbs down on a straight

sales tax bill in a third refer-
endum 1936.

@ A similar effort was de-
feated around 1939.

@ A sales tax bill with funds
earmarked for education, wel-
fare and government, referred
by the legislature in a special
election in 1947:was beaten
180,333 to 67,514. :

@ In 1955 an attempt was
made to impose a Sales tax in
the guise of an amendment to
repeal a part of the state con-
situation which forbids the
legislature to enact emergen-
cy taxes without referring them
to the people.

On this occasion there was
a concerted campaign, and a
well publicized one, directed
first at the legislature by the
United Labor Lobby to expose
the bill authorizing the ballot
measure, and later, before the
election itself to expose Bal-
lot Measure No. 1 as a sales
tax in disguise.

Along with the ballot mea-
sure, one of the main sales tax-
ers in the state, Rep. Earl Hill
who everyone thought had a

life tenure in the legislature,
went down to defeat.

Not only organized labor,
but the Oregon State Grange
representing a sizable section
of the farm vote has also op-
posed a sales tax. And in the
current session the Council of
Churches denounced the sales
tax package because the date
set for the election was Good
Friday.

CANADA LOSING OPPORTUNITIES

Industrialist urges China trade

A prominent B.C. industrial-
ist this week added his voice
to the growing demand for
trade with China.

W. C. Mainwaring, B.C. Hl-
ectric vice-president, address-
ing the Canadian Institute of
Timber Construction, said Chi-
na is interested in buying Ca-
nadian lumber, pulp and paper,
ships, fishing vessels and many
other types of goods and
equipment.

“China is one of the world’s
fastest growing trading areas
and apparently is willing to
trade with countries such as
ours,” he said.

Pointing out that Canada is

refusing to grant full recoghi-
losing potential business by
tion to China, he called for the
easing of embargo restrictions
and the facilitating, of visits to
China of business delegations.

Pointing out that this ‘¢éoun-
ry’s exports to China dropped
from $37 million in 1947 to $1
million in 1956, he said: “There
is every indication that China
has the dollars to pay for in-
creased trade with Canada.”

Current Chinese imports into
Canada exceed exports io Chi-
na by about four to one.

Elaborating on the possibili-
ties such trade holds for this

province, Mainwaring said that
B.C. is strategically located im
relation to this trade and could
be “a major beneficiary of the
expanding market.” |

Alaska Negro pupet

e 3
marks anniversary —
ANCHORAGE
The Alaska Spotlight, the
territory’s first and only Negro
newspaper is celebrating its
fourth anniversary this month:
The first issue came off the
press March 2, 1953. George @
Anderson is editor and pub-
lisher.

blank paper.

Pacific Tribune.

19
OTHER
PRIZES

All you have to do

State, in not less than 50 words
or more than 200, where in B.C. you
would like to take a vacation and why.
Use either the accompanying form or

Deadline for entries is May 10. A
panel of three judges will award a
first prize and 19 honorable mention
awards. Their decision is final. Win-
ning letters will be published in the

Enter the
PACIFIC TRIBUNE
FREE CONTEST

FIRST PRIZE $300

y —
ae

Two-week all-expense vacation
at any resort in b

CONTEST FORM

I would like to spend my vacation at

because

MARCH 29, 1957 —

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE |