The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-12-01
TO TAX CORPORATIONS
The Income Tax Proposition De-
feated in Committee.
INDIVIDUAL FORTUNES EXEMPT

Tho Democrats of the Ways and Means
Committee Have Also Decided to In
crease the Tax on Cigarettes and Impose
Tax on Playing Cards.
WASHINGTON, Dec. lit has been def
initely determined that the income tax
system to be reported by the ways and
means committee will be confined to a
tax on the net incomes of all corporations
and tax on succession and legacies.
Messrs. Bryan, Mcmillan, Whiting and
others made strong fight for a plan
broad enough to include all incomes of in
divduals in excess of 81, 900, but they have
been forced to acquiesce in the will of the
majority and abandon the graduated in
come tax in favor of one applying only to
corporations and SUGGESTIONS.
! The Democratic members have now
reached definite conclusion on this sub
ject, and it can, therefore, be confidently
announced that the income tax system
will be narrowed down to these specific
limits, unless the recommendations of the
committee are upset in the house and a
general plan for n graduated tax on all
incomes, private as well as cooperative, be
adopted.
| The committee, in its report to the
house, will adopt n unique argument for
restricting the system to corporations in
stead of applying it to all individuals.
4 They will state that the greatest money
earning powers OF the country are the cor
poratiOns, while the risk to individual
stockholders is less Than the risk in any
private business The corporations derive
special advantages from legislation, one
OF which is that in event of commercial
disaster the various stockholders are only
liable to the extent of the full value of the
stock subscribed, and that to offset these
special advantages they should bear a
generous burden of the expenses Of gov
eminent. The tax on corporations, there
fore, will not be graduated one, bit will
apply to all net earnings of whatever ag
gregate.
/ This is an essential departure from the
time honored theory of an income tax, as
most political economists have favored
the graduated system, imposing nothing
on incomes of less than 5000 per annum
2 per cent on the excess between s., 600 anC
; s2O, 900, 5 per cent. on the excess between
SlO,O and $4,000, and 10 per cent. on tn,
: excess above $4,000. If system apply
ing to individuals had been adopted ther,
isno doubt it would have been such {
graduated plan as this, but since it is to
/ apply to corporations and succe $'ions only
1t will he upon the net earnings of tn,
corporation and the gross amount of tn,
succession or legacy. SUGGESTIONS ant
legacies in this connection, of course, ap
ply only to personality and monies.
The Democrats of the committee hav,
also decided to increase the tax RADICAL,
?. on cigarettes and to impose tax on play
h. ing cards. Both of these points are def
initely decided, the object on the one hant
being to tax u nuisance" and on til,
T other to tax an article which can bear
! heavy burden without any individual
feeling the weight of it. ..
The internal revenue tax on whisky 1,
still an open question. The committee il
: maintaining n studious reticence on thi,
subject for fear of the manipulations O.
spectators on the stock exchange.