The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1894-02-03
The Income FAX for Corporations.

The Income Tax for Corporations.
II would be a sufficient objection
TO the proposal of the Ways and
Means Committee TO tax the income
OF corporations that the project must
involve very serious interference on
the part of the federal government
with one of the most important
sources Of revenue of the States and
local governments. This is particu-
larly indefensiblc, because the local
governments are still excluded from
the right to collect duties from Gus
toms and to tax liquors aud tobacco.
The situation, then, is that the fed
eral authority, holding q monopoly
Of the best sources of revenue, and
having power to supply all its needs
from those sources, deliberately pro-
poses to surrender much of the rev.
enue thus %procurable and to invade
the field of local governments to meet
its requirements. AS the local gov
ernments can discover nothing new
of q taxable nature. the consequences
must be that corporations and their
owners will lie subjected to double
taxation.
Corporations usually r the crca.
lures of the States. and that single
fact would appear TO make them suit
able objects of taxation by the States.
For tho United States Government,
without responsibility for the exist
ence of the corporate bodies and
without any w%arrantable power OF
control ovcr them, 10 come forward
to demand money from them may be
20 indulge in something like Il scan
lalous act of asurpation.
Why should a corporation be Sc
lected as a victim OF this perform
rnce when a mere partnership is per-
anitted 10 escape? No reason a be
given other than that the idea is wide
ly prevalent. and is probably enter
tanned by many of the small Demo
cratic statesmen in Congress, that Il
corporation is always a kind of soul.
less creature with enormous wealth.
There is a dim impression that a cor
poraiion is from IFS nature a thing
that must prey upon the people and
that enCOtintcrs continual difficulty
in Disgusting the amount OF lis enor-
III 'us gains. Of course, intelligent
grown people are ware that al ovcr-
whclming majority of American cor
poratious are poorer in capital and in
profit than a very large number of
individual business men. In most
cases, probably, q corporation repre-
sents small particles of capital collie
ted into one mass aud operating un-
der a system which better suits such
conditions than a mere partnership.
# 10 have business conducted by one
individual or :wO be a good thing, TO
have it conducted by a corporation
:cting for many individuals must also
De II good thing. Both systems are
rood. Bot the corporation method
is necessary for very large operations
md for small operations into which
Il is desired to put small savings.
Let it be observed also that this
proposed tax will really be an extern
sion of the income tax below the
$1,000 level. 1t will apply not ONLY
to the small commercial and manu-
taciurins corporations, but 10 savings
banks and to other concerns in which
he thrifty poor people invest their
surplus earnings. This added burden
is to be placed upon them, absolutely
without necessity, by a party which
is trying to force down wages and to
deprive American producers of raw
material of employment. This new
AK is placed upon the people, rich
md poor, by statesmen who accom-
pany the presentation of their project
with protestations that they are try
ing 10 relieve the common people
from offensive taxation. What they
ire in fact trying TO do ia 10 shift fhe
tax payments from the foreign expor-
Ter AMI from foreign goods and to
place them wholly upon the general
mass of the people. The Wilson
Tariff bill required the income tax
bill TO make the whole Democratic
scheme absolutely defiant of the re-