Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-06-11

any individual receives, whether by
SIT, beqnest, or devise, in life or In
, death. should. after 4 certain amount
F., Is reached, he Increasingly burden.
ed; and tho rate of taxation should
be INCREASED In proportion to che
remoteness of blood of the man re.
ceiving from the man giving or de.
vising. The principle of this pro.
gressivc taxation oil inheritanccs has
not only boon authortativcly recog.
nized by the legislation of Congress,
but 1t Is now intentionally adopted
In the leading civilized nations OF the
world--in, for instance, Great Britain.
France and Germany. Switzerland
led off with the imposition of high
progressive rates. Great Britain waa
the first OF the great nations to fol
low suit and within the last few years
both France ana Germany have adopt
ed tho principle. In Great Britain all
estates worth five thousand dollars or
less are practically exempt from
death duties. while the increase IL
such that when an estate exceeds
Tive millions of dollars in value and
passes to distant kinsn,an or stran.
ger In blood the Government receives
nearly eighteen per cent. In Franco.
under the progressive system. 30
much OF an Inheritance as exceeds
ten millions of dollars pays over TWEEN
ty per cont to the state IL 1t passes To
II distant relative. and five per cent.
IL II passes to n direct heir. In Ger.
many very small inhcritanccs are OK.
empt, but the tax IN 80 Sharply pro.
gressivo that an Inheritance not in
agricultural or forest lands which OK.
eeds two hundred ana fifty thousand
lollars. IL 1t goes TO distant relatives.
taxed at the rate of about twenty
I've per cent. The German law isl
of special interest, because It makes
the inheritance tax an imperial meas.
IRE, while allotting to the Individual
States of the Empire n portion of the
proceeds and permitting them to i'm
pose taxes In addition to those i'm.
posed by the Imperial Government
II the United States the National
government has more than once i'm
posed inheritance taxes In addition
to those imposed by the States. and in
he last instance about onc.half OF
he States levied such taxes concur
ently with the .<ational Government,
making u combined maximum rate,
II some cases as high as twenty-five
Ter cent; and, as matter of fact,
;everal States adopted Inheritance tax
avs for tho first time while the Nh.
ional laws was still in force andre
pealed.
The Progressive Principle.
Tho French law has one feature
which is to be heartily commended.
That progressive principle is so mp,
Piled that each higher rate is imposed
only on the excess Above tho amount
.ubject to the next lower rate. This
Ian is peculiarly adapted to tho work.
ng out OF the theory of using tho
Inheritance tax for the purpose of
Uniting the S65t ifiiftTtt6iIo' S Gar
ui' since the progressive jncrnaso
I IN lhe rates. according to this mol
\ nay DC carried TO its logical connl,
non IN maximum rate of noor,,,
me hundred per cent for tho amn,,n,
"a excess OF specified sum. wiibom.
pe,hs coniiscatory as to the resi- or
~ ihherithnce: for each increneo In
lute .WoaiG apPls.--,i,, a., tb ~
above certain maximum. / do Hot
believe that any advantage comes
either to the country as whole or
to the individuals inheriting the
money by permitting the transmission
In their entirety of such enormous
)rtunes as have been accumulated
IN America. The tax could be made
bear more heavily upon persons
.esiding out of the country than upon
those residing within it, Such heavy
progressive tax is of course In no
shape or way tax OH thrift or IN
lustry. for thrift and industry have
leased to possess any measureabie
Importance in the acquisition of the
swollen fortunes of which | sDea..
long before the tax would in any way
seriously affect them. Such tax
would be one of the methods py
Which we should try to preserve
measurable equality of opportunity
for the people OF the generation grow
ing to manhood. AS Lincoln pointed
out. there are some respects in which
men are obviously not equal; but
here is no reason why there should
not be an equality of self-respect and
Of mutual respect; an equality of
rights before the law, and at least an
approximate equality in tho condi,
tons under which each man obtains
the chance to show the stuff that is
in him when compared with his fell
lows.
FrN-