The herald., 1895-04-10
Opinion of Attorney General
OIney on the Decision
THE OPINIONS ARE BINDING
The Only Recourse is for the People to
Pay Under Protest
Debates in Congress on the Law were barren
Of Figures-ColIectors In the East
Will Try and Levy the Tax

WASHINGTON, April $50 far as
the lower courts are concerned" said At
torney General Olney, 'the division OF
the Supreme Court on the income tax
law is as binding as if the whole court
had been unanimous IN its favor. can
not believe any Judge would grant in
junction to prevent a collector from coll
lecting the tax on incomes derived from
other sources than rents or state ana
municipal bonds in the face OF the SUI
preme Courts action. The only way
can see by which persons who object to
paying the tax can secure judicial action
is by paying the tax under protest and
entering suit for its recovery"
The debates on the income tax. while
the bill for it's imposition was under con-
sderation in Congress, are almost barren
of figures showing the comparative i'm
portance of the INCOMES from rents and
interest on county, municipal and state
bonds in furnishing revenue to the
Government. 1t does not appear that
this matter was touched upon in the
House discussion, and it was only casu-
ally referred to in the Senate. Senator
Aldrich of Rhode Island prepared a state
ment, placing the revenue likely to be
derived through the income tax at $780,
000,0 and crediting rents and public
bonds with about 30 per cent OF this
amount
Senator Peffer, who made the principal
speech in the Senate in advocacy of an in
come tax, did not go INTO this branch OF
the question at all, but he said today i'll
an interview that he was of the opinion
that between nine and ten million dollars
of revenue would have been derived from
those two sources if the Supreme Court
had allowed them to stand. and he added
he thought this amount would have been
about wo-thirds of the revenue produced
by the income tax.
1.-THE census reports show, he said,
"that so per cent of the people of the
United States are renters, and it is to be
inferred that about this proportion OF the
land is occupied by renters The land of
the entire country, with Improvements
added, is put down as worth $780, 544, 544, 323
OF this amount $40, 900, 600, 600 worth
is rented. The rental on that amount at
the average rate OF per cent would be
one billion dollars. Just what proportion
of that would come under the law is an
other matter, and that could not be got
ten at accurately, hut let us assume one
quarCer of it, or two hundred and fifty
millions worth would be taxable income
that would give five million dollars of in
come tax, and that, l think, is very
low estimate. The bonds-municipal
county and school districts would
be subject to the tax amounting to 5000,
2l3, 053. Take one-quarter of this amount
as coming within the operations of the
law and one arrives at the rate of 2 per
cent on this amount, "a, 53l, 065, or total
on the two items of about nine and Il
half million dollars"
Late this afternoon Commissioner Mil
Ter decided to require all persons who
have made returns to make affidayits to
fhe facts as to the amount of income re-
ceived from rents and bonds, and those
who have not yet sent in their returns to
make necessary correction thereon before
doing SO. 1t seems probable the final de
cision will be that Yesterdays opinion IN
effect exempts incomes received from
bonds and rents, the latter to be strictly
defined as the amount the landlord de-
rives from his tenant. In COM
putting income it is believed it will be
held that insurance, ordinary repairs and
taxes on exempt property may be properly
deducted. In that case it is probable the
courts will be called upon to explain lust
what yesterdays decision intended to ex-
enlpt from the tax.
Private Secretary Thurber's attention
;. being called to the statement contained
in the Washington evening papers today
that the President was being flooded bv
kilograms from all parts of the country
appealing to him to call an extra session
OF Congress to repeal the income tax law
said not one single telegram or communi-
cation had been received on the subject