Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (Sep 1935 - Aug 1936)

-1 INDEPENDENT EXHIBITORS FILM BULLETIN INDEPENDENT EXHIBITORS FILM BULLETIN Vol. 2 No. 17 Dec. 25, 1935 Issued weekly by Film Bulletin Company, at 1313 Vine Street, Phila., Pa. Mo Wax, editor and publisher; Roland Barton, George F. Nonamaker, associate editors. Telephone: RITtenhouse 4816. Address all communications to Editor, Film Bulletin Vlerritt Crawford, Publisher's Representative 1658 Broadway, New York City Room 486 — Circle 7-3094 ADVERTISING RATES Write or call us for our Advertising Rates. Weekly circulation 1000 copies, covering every theatre owner in the Philadelphia and Baltimore-Washington territories. ( Continued from Preceding Page) fight for lower rates from Ascap. The fight will probably have to be one to be fought by ind: pendent exhibitors alone, since most of the major film companies now own music publishing houses, whose membership in Ascap nets them substantial incomes. Federal Tax On Payrolls Effective Jan. 1 Employers of 8 Or More Pay One Percent As part of the broad Social Security Act passed by the last session of Congress, employers of eight or more persons will be required to pay Uncle Sam one per cent of their total payrolls, as of January 1st, 1936. Since intra-state, as well as inter-state businesses, are affected by t lis law, motion picture theatres coming within the statute will pay the tax. This part of the Act is intended to provide unemployment insurance for those who lose their jobs in future years. Those subject to the tax need not employ the stipulated number of persons regularly. It will be levied on all employers who have had eight or more people in their employ one or more days per week for at least twenty weeks in the year. The weeks of employment need not be consecutive. Exempted from inclusion as regular employees are those working for a husband, wife, son or daughter. Also, children employed by their mother or father. Otherwise, anyone who works for at least one day per week for a minimum of 20 weeks through the year's 52 is to be included. Theatres, as well as other businesses, will be required to keep detailed records of the number of days and weeks in which their employees render services. If an eighth worker is employed during the first len weeks of the year and another is used during the last ten weeks of the year, the firm is subject to the tax. Accurate records should be kept, even as to the nuexber of days part-time workers are employed. In states having unemployment insurance (N. Y. and Washington, D. C. included), employers are granted deductions of the amount paid to the state, providing that the deduction is not to exceed 90 per cent of the federal levy. Collection will be made at the end of each year. Failure to pay the federal tax when due will result in a penalty of interest at the rate of one-half of one per cent per month for the delinquent period. Payment will be made to the Federal Department of Internal Revenue. Injunction Halts Phila. Police Drive On Theatre Games Temporary Respite , . . Chance games in Philadelphia movie houses won a respite from further efforts by the police department to stop them when the Mayfair Theatre, Fifty-ninth and Market Streets, obtained a temporary injunction in Municipal Court restraining police officials from interfering with the conduct of "Sweepstakes" and "Broadway Handicap." The house is operated by David Barrist and Charles Goodwin, local distributors of the two games. While this was the only injunction against the police and applies, legally, only to the theatre mentioned, it is generally believed that no further action will be attempted by the department pending the outcome of the Mayfair case, which is scheduled to be heard this Friday (27th). Lottery? . . . Within the past two weeks, the Philadelphia police have conducted an intensive drive against the games by serving warning to many theatre owners that the games violate tho anti-lottery laws. Several arrests were made, but none of the cases have come to trial. Game distributors have sought to have a court decision handed down so that the situation might be cleared up permanently. Dennis Games Co. and Metropolitan Premium Corp. have both been active in seeking to force a showdown with the police. With State Legislator Morton Witkin representing them, Dennis Games is proceeding along its own lines to have "Lucky" receive official police approval and expresses confidence that this will be accomplished shortly. Additional EVENTS ON THE MARCH on Page 6 He'll never get them by dreaming!