Excerpt from General Explanation of Committee Discussion Draft of Revenue Bill of 1961: Released for Information and Study, August 24, 1961 On April 20, 1961, the President sent to Congress a message containing a series of proposals for the revision of certain of the present tax laws. The Committee on Ways and Means on May 3, 1961, began hearings on the President's proposals. In these hearings, which extended over a month, the committee received testimony and comments from over 400 individuals and organizations. This material is contained in 4 volumes of over 3,600 printed pages. Following the public hearings the committee considered the President's proposals in executive sessions over a period of several weeks. In those considerations the committee made certain tentative decisions for purposes of drafting a modified version of the President's proposals. The committee print, dated August 24, 1961, was the discussion draft prepared as a result of this committee action. Although no part of this draft has been approved by the committee, it was released for the information of the public. On August 23, 1961, the Committee on Ways and Means decided to defer action on the President's tax recommendations until next year. Chairman Wilbur D. Mills at that time in part said: The committee has worked diligently on the President's tax recommendations for 4 months, and now finds that it will be impossible to conclude its deliberation in the few weeks which remain in this session. This legislation will be perfected during the fall months, and will be the first order of business in the next session of this Congress. This document is a general explanation of the released draft. This explanation has been prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means and the general public. It has not been reviewed by the Committee on Ways and Means. An explanation of the Treasury draft on "tax haven