THE FEDERAL BUDGET AND TAX PLANNING

In South Carolina, tax payments on bottled drinks and syrups are evidenced by license tax crowns or tax stamps. The crowns are purchased directly from the State Tax Commission and the purchasers are prohibited from selling or disposing of the stamps to other persons. Discounts on crowns are as follows: 0-24, none; 25-49, 5 per cent; 50 and up, 10 per cent. The discount however, applies only to the tax and not to the manufacturer's price or transportation costs which the purchaser is required to pay. The tax is payable monthly. Stamp and crowns are used to evidence payment of the Louisiana soft drink tax. During the war, the Louisiana Department of Revenue permitted the tax to be paid by use of reshaped and plain crowns because of the unavailability of new lithographed crowns. However, the department recently issued a ruling that the tax must be paid upon receipt of bottle crowns. Soft drink crowns in Louisiana may be purchased only from qualified and bonded crown manufacturers, of which there are 30 in the state.