ustxtxb_obs_1975_09_19_50_00012-00000_000.pdf

People have mentioned Ralph Yarborough, Bob Eckhardt, Sissy Farenthold, and Billie Carr. 6.Form “Uncommitted” slates in every Senatorial District and hold fair and open meetings to elect delegate selection committee and chairperson. There is a way to be listed “uncommitted” on the ballot and yet be committed. 7.You can become an uncommitted individual delegate and run all by your lonesome. III. Yes, Virginia, we will still have precinct conventions, County/Senatorial conventions and two conventions. 1.What are the new rules? 2.What is our best strategy for this part of next year’s fun and games? IV. Report on the Texas Challenge. 1.52 of us have filed a challenge to the presidential primary and to the Texas Delegate Selection for 1976. 2.The state has answered us and it is a lot of hog-wash. You’ll love it. 3.The Compliance Review Commission is the next stop. Who can help us? V. This meeting is going to be the start of something big and important. We wouldn’t want to do anything so big, so important, without you. See you there. Peace, How to evade taxes By Tony Castro Houston Houston’s three super bank holding companies, through the use of tax subsidies and shelters, paid federal income taxes in 1973 based on less than half the statutory tax rate, and one company actually received a refund of more than $1 million. The three bank holding companies together paid income taxes of less than 10 percent on a combined reported income for the year of more than $67.6 million before taxes. The statutory federal tax rate for corporations is 48 percent. Southwest Bancshares, Inc., the third largest bank holding company in the city, received a tax credit of $1,103,000, while reporting an income of $12,983,000 and earnings of $2.29 per share of common stock. According to records filed with the Federal Reserve Board, Southwest Bancshares also paid no federal income This is another in a series of articles on the ties that bind members of Houston’s power elite. Castro is a reporter for The Houston Post and author of Chicano Power. 12 The Texas Observer taxes in 1972 when it received a tax credit of $393,000. It reported an income of $12,065,000 for that year. In 1973, Texas Commerce Bancshares, Inc., the city’s second largest bank holding company, paid taxes of $5,670,000 or a 21 percent effective tax rate on a reported income of $27,039,000. First City Bancorporation of Texas, the third biggest bank holding company in the state and parent of the largest bank in Houston, paid 1973 income taxes at an effective tax rate of 7 percent. First City paid $1,773,000 on a reported income before taxes of $26,515,000. THERE APPEARED to be nothing illegal in the financial transactions or tax computations that allowed the three bank holding companies to lighten their statutory tax obligations or escape taxes altogether. But the manner in which they did so the use of tax subsidies and shelters shows the super bank holding companies, the epitome of power and wealth in this city, have protected their profits while continuing to expand their holdings and economic clout. In some instances, the tax subsidies of the Internal Revenue Code have provided incentives for the bank holding companies to buy up smaller banks for tax and cash flow purposes. In its annual report filed with the Federal Reserve, Southwest Bancshares attributed its 1973 tax credit to the consolidation of its new acquisitions that year with its holdings. Under certain definitions in Section 368 of the Tax Code, large corporations such as bank holding companies purchase small operations permitting the seller to avoid any payment on capital gains from the sale. In many instances, the purchase of smaller banks by large holding companies has given them the opportunity to invest in tax shelters and in general to maximize their use of tax subsidies. Through the use of tax provisions for investment tax credits, depreciation, and possible credit losses, large corporations can further reduce their tax liabilities. But the biggest tax shelter boon for the banks, as well as other institutional investors, is Democratic National Committeewoman BILLIE CARR REPORTS . SPECIAL MEETING OF TEXAS DEMOCRATS Don’t forget we need YOU to attend this statewide meeting of Texas liberals. Where: Austin, Texas When: September 20, 1975 Saturday Place: Sheraton-Crest Hotel, Madrid Room Time: 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. We will have special speakers. However, the most important part of the meeting will be information, discussion and exchange of ideas about 1976. Think about this: I.We are faced with a new voter registration bill that requires all Texas voters to register all over again in order to vote in 1976-77. This means education and voter registration drives must be put in motion, NOW. II.We must deal with the God-awful presidential primary created by and for Bentsen. Here are alternatives we hear our people talking about: 1.Sell out to Bentsen. Chances are that he will not last past one ballot and then you can switch to a good candidate. 2.There’s always Wallace. Some people think that they would be better off to join forces with Wallace in order to beat Bentsen. 3.Sign up for a liberal/progressive presidential candidate like Udall, Carter, Sanford, Harris, Bayh, Shriver. 4.We could support a favorite son or daughter candidate. Paid Pol. Adv. by Billie Carr Expense Fund, 2418 Travis, Houston, Texas.