The San Francisco call., 1899-10-14
AMENDING THE WAR TAX LAW.

L NlSPATCHES from Washington confirm the
| statements OF The Call that Congress will be
called upon at the coming session to amend
the war tax law for the purpose of eliminating GER
tain defects which have resulted in diminishing the
amount OF revenue expected to be derived from it.
In discussing the subject an agent in this CITY of
the Internal Revenue Department is quoted as say
ing the greatest loss has been due to decision OF the
Attorney General that undivided profits in banks are
not TO be considered capital surplus and there
fore not subject the tax on undivided surplus
he estimates that in the northeastern districts OF Cali
fornia alone the Government loses between $500
and 100000 year by that ruling
The agent is reported to have added: Some
money is lost the wine tax by restaurant keepers
serving wine in pitchers instead of bottles which are
taxed, and also by the use of tax stamps second
and third time. This loss could be avoided bv
taxing the wine in the winery, or by having strip
stamps fastened to the cork and to the bottle in such
a way that the cork could not be drawn without
breaking the stamp | have no doubt that Congress
will amend the law so that those leakages will be
checked"
The defects pointed out are but few of the many
that have been noted in the law. They serve how
eevr, show how necessary it is to revise the law
and materially amend it. The wine tax for example.
ought to be abolished utterly or so completely al
tered to make it something quite different from
what it is. AS it stands it is virtually tax upor
California alone There is no other State in the
Union where the people use light wines habitray
az meals, and consequently on wines making no
discrimination between the costest brands and the
light wines used the table is unfair If the wine
tax be continued it should at least impose tax
graded to the value of the wine so that the popular
restaurants of California should not have to paw as
much the caret served at meals as is imDosed
upon champagne.
The chief defect of the law, however is one TO
which the revenue official made no reference The
Call has repeatedly pointed that by reason Of the
delay OF the courts in bringing to final adjudication
the controversy between the people and the express
and the telegraph companies the tax shrling cor
porations daily engaged in extortng money from
their patrons in every part OF the Union To rem
edy that defect should be the first object of Congress-
for it is the one which works more injustice and is
most exasperating to the taxpayers
1t is probable some Of the Government officials
are indifferent as TO who pays the stamp taxes on tee
graph messages and express receipts so long as the
Government receives the money 1t is as well to
point out therefore, that the Wells Fargo Express
Company, at any rate, has been as willing to defraud
the Government to rob the people AS soon as
the tax was imposed that company made to The Call
an offer to receive from it a whole wagon-load of
packages as one package thus cheating the national
revenue to that extent 1t is not likely the offer was
made to The Call only. Probably good many large
shippers have taken advantage of it. and the total
loss OF revenue by the trick may be considerable
The war tax law was drawn up and enacted in
hurry to meet the needs of the Government at the
time. Experience has shown it to be detective in
many ways Congress- therefore, should not be con-.
tent with amending it here and there The whole law
should be reviewed revised and recast The burdens
OF taxation should be made as equal as possible upon
ell sections and all classes, and there should be no
way open for tax-shrkers to extort money from the
public to defraud the Government
when Mayor Phelan insisted that nnilitar,r ,,,a,