PONDERS TAFT-HARTLEY WAL

'
I ^-9
:
Present
OHIO SLASHES JOBLESS TAX;
KEYSTONE SESSION ROUNDUP
Ohio Won't Tax Rentals
llnemployment Reduction
[ness will be decentralized and every city in
evy Will Average
Alter Ticket Tax Repeal
Columbus—Exemption of film rentals
|C Per Cent
from the Ohio sales or use tax will be
COLUMBUS—The amendment to Senate
continued
Bill 453.
following
This bill
passage
extends
of
the
House
exemption
granted two years ago. It was feared
i: No. 112. passed by the state legislature
iCi approved by the governor, means a cut
that repeal of the state admissions tax
.ipproximately 50 per cent in the unemoyment
tax theatre owners ha' e been pay-
would cause the sales or use tax to be reimposed.
Governor Herbert is expected
to the state, according to P. J. Wood,
to sign the bill.
etary of the Independent Theatre Own-
.•s of Ohio.
Other important benefits are these;
(11 Provision lor payment of benefits
those who quit their jobs voluntarily
Cleveland.
[ to
only if the quitting is for jast cause ui
connection with work, i law pays
benefits for any cause the BUC regards
i
iiS just, regardless of w'ork connection,
(21 Provision for immediate notice to
ing an admissions levy,
the last employer on claims filed so that
he can offer back the same or another
job.
(3') Clarification of the defmition of
"marital obligations" by adding the words
•
parental, filial and other domestic." It
is designed to make it clear that persons
v.ho quit work because of these domestic
obligations shall rot be allowed benefits
in the period which follows such voluntary
quitting.
(4) Provides for a monthly statement
dium and large towns at a
(if charge-back to employers upon written
request. It will give the employer
na up-to-date picture of his benefit accoimt
and will permit him to offer jobs
back up the contention for a
the 20
to former workers.
(5) Establishes a four-year statute of
admission taxes."
limitations on the power of the Bureau
The letter was addressed to
i>f Unemployment Compensation to collect
delmquent contributions.
To aid theatre owners in computing their
educed unemployment tax under the amended
bill. Wood submits the following table of
compensations
li Your Your Present Your Nev.- Rate
erve Ratio Rate Is: Will Be:
\e Is:
li% and over .7 .3
:2-I3 .7 .3
:i-12 .9 .3
-.y-n I.I .4
}-IO 1.3 .5
1.5 .7
7-8 1.7 .9
^7 1.9 1.1
I 5-6 2.1 1.3
--S 2.3 15
i
3-4 2.5 17
1
' 2-3 2.7 1.9
) 1-2 2 7 2 1
• 0-1 30 2.5
Wood Blames Roadshows
For Tax Defeat in Ohio
COLUMBUS— Hiked admissions on such
pi' tares as "Henry V," "The Best Years of
Our Lives" and "Duel in the Sun" "hurt
trtmendously" the fight of Ohio theatre owner-
to prevent repeal of the states 3 per cent
aciinissions tax. P. J. Wood, secretary of the
In lependent Theatre Owners of Ohio, charged
in an open letter to leaders of the industry.
These three incidents, right under the
noses of the legislature, eliminated entirely
aU the force of our oft-repeated argument
that any increase at the boxoffice would result
in a reduction of receipts." declared
tWood.
Repeal of the state tax means that the
[fight against increased taxes upon our busi- to right:
Ohio becomes a battleground." added Wood.
Columbus, Youngstown and Lima
are known to be considering passage of municipal
levies, which may go as high as 10
per cent in some instances. Toledo, which
has been exploring the possibUity of impos-
has turned down the
proposal within the past week, Wood said.
"Doubling admission prices, upon demand
of the distributor, in the face of diminishing
grosses is not only bad business but Is bound
to lend w-eight to the arguments of city officials
who attempt to enact local admission
taxes," .said Wood.
"We have been trying to sell the public
on the idea that films are the entertainment
for the masses, but with five pictures circulating
throughout the country in small, me-
minimum admission
price of around $1.50. we face the danger
of being continued in the luxury class and
giving the Congress the ammunition to
continuation of
per cent federal tax, and money-hungry
city officials the excuse to impose high
local
Abe Montague.
Columbia vice-president: Nicholas M.
Schenck. president of Loew's; Barney Balaban.
president of Paramount: Peter Rathvon.
president of RKO: Nate Blumberg.
president of Universal-International: Harry
M. Warner, president of Warner Bros.: Gradwell
L. Sears, vice-president of United Artists:
S. P. Skouras. president of 20th-Fox;
David O. Selznick and Sam Goldwyn.
Film Trade Escapes Many
Unfavorable Enactments
In Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG—A post-mortem
examination
of the 1947 session of the Pennsylvania
general assembly shows that the motion picture
industry escaped numerous proposed restrictions,
increased licenses and direct and
indirect competition.
The Stonier-Brunner taxing measure, approved
in the last gasp of the session, means
Pittsburgh city officials and other municipal
officers will have the right to levy on
anything not taxed by the state, such as
"persons, transactions, occupations, privileges,
subjects, personal property (except utilities,
whose income is regulated by the Public
Utilities commission)." The measure empowers
political subdivisions (except cities,
counties and school districts of the first
class) to levy, assess and collect additional
taxes for general revenue purposes. Municipalities
are required to advertise proposed
taxes in newspapers for four weeks before
they are made effective. Taxpayers may appeal
to the county courts if local officials
impose taxes that are considered unfair or
discriminatory.
The broader tax fight was the bitterest of
the session and was caught in a last-day
legislative jam. It is expected that the act
will be brought into the courts to test its
validity.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SESSION
Major highhghts of the long 13Tth regular
session of the Pennsylvania general assembly,
which convened January 7 and adjourned
June 17:
Community property bUl provides for substantial
income tax reductions in middle and
higher income families.
Labor program bans strikes by public employes,
including teachers; forbids jurisdictional
disputes and secondary boycotts: requires
arbitration in public utility strikes;
(Continued on next page)
TOLEDO V.^RIETY HOSTS ORPHANS— Several hundred orphans from Toledo
institutions were guests of Variety Tent 30 when the Hennie Bros, show played in
Toledo. The youngsters were taken to the afternoon performance in chartered buses
with special police escort for an added thrill, and were treated to the main show,
the side show, and all the rides. In addition, they were given free ice cream, candy,
popcorn and peanuts. Members of the committee in charge, pictured here, are, left
Ted Teschner, Jack Lykes, Bob Campbell, Jim Dempsey, Jack O'Connell and
Milton Tarloff. Jack Armstrong, co-chairman with O'Connell, is not in the photograph.
iBOXOFFICE :: June 28, 1947 ME
85