The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1877-01-25

One of the Ino%i important reforms
which is to be urged in Congre-s rels-
tive to bank legislation. il the repeal
of those taxes which are so nlischiev-
GUS i'm their operation both upon The
banks and upon the financial interests
Of the country. The probability OF
the early success Of this project h the
greater, as the banks are united in The
effort to obtain il. and IS their claims
are obviously reasonable and meder-
ate. Ever since the var-tsx system
was organized dozen years ago, the
banks of this eountry-private, State,
and National-haye been subject 10
double taxation. They have been
taxed a. formerly by the State govern
ments, and they have also been taxed
hy the National Government. The
National taxes, n we have frequently
shown, are specifically war taxes and
a. most OF the other war impc~ts have
been repealed, the banks argue that
their war taxes should also be taken
of. Among the reasons which they
present in favor Of this relief, We md
several which are worthy of special
remark.
There Is for example. the fact that
the existing pressure of taxation sur
passes the fiscal power Of the tanks.
Every merchan, and capitalist knows
that the business Of banking is not a.
profitable rs formerly, and that il is
embarrassed with multitude of
heavy burdens. These burdens are
partly fiscal and partly general. 1t
il estimated that the banks are re-
quired to pay more than twenty-five
millions of dollars q year in taxation,
of which the National hanks pay sew
enteen millions, and the private and
State banks eight millions. OF these
twenty-five millions, the National
government receives eleven millions,
and the State governments fifteen
millions. Now, as il has been admitted
that nearly one-half Of this burden
consists Of war-taxes which must
sooner or later be RENTED, and which
ought to have been repealed long ago,
the equities Of the ease suggest the re-
pealing of all the federal taxes on the
banks, except the tax on the circula-
ton.
A second burden upon the banks i
due to the approach Of specie re-ump-
ton. To this anticipation is in part
ascribed that accumulation i'm all our
banks of idle deposits, which there is
not activity enough to employ in the
currents OF legitimate business. There
is pressure in every part of the finan-
cial machinery which close, up or
contracts many of those avenues of
commerce and trade through which
the banks earn their profits. More
over, much of the strain attending the
restoration of specie payments, will, of
necessity. concentrate its forces upon
the banking system. For these and
other reasons ii il clear that the COM
plants of the banks are perfectly just
and that banking institutions have to
contend with peculiar ernharra>sments
which render il eminently nit that
their fiscal burdens should lac made as
light as possible.
II Congress should adopt the en-
lightened course recommended, il will /,
assimilate our legislation 10 that Of
the older countries of Europe, in none /
of which is any special tax paid by /
the banks, except light one upon /.
their circulating notes. To illustrate
the extent of the popular agitation in
reference TO hank taxation, we might
point TO the newspapers where the
subject has been frequently discussed
in connection with the suits which
have been recently decided i'm the
various courts. Two of these eases
are reported in subsequent pages of
this issue.-Bdnk.r's Magazine for
December, 1876.