The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-04-23

ity on the inheritance tax in this coun-
try, and who died some weeks ago just
after completing the second edition of
his exhaustive treatise on the question,
said: "* Although the form of
double taxation is far less Objectionable
in practice than the levying of botn
state and local taxes on property as
sessed locally, yet it might be said to
argue, if not a breach of federal comfy,
at least certain lack of system in the
nations finances" DR.. West suggest
ed that congress should leave the in
heritance tax exclusively to the states,
and should tax interstate business in
stead-snould reach the proceeds of in
terstate commerce, which are out of
the effective reach of the states. The
legislature of Wisconsin in 1901 memo
rialized congress to repeal the Spanish
war inheritance tax, and pointed out
that if the law remained "a large
amount of property in the country will
be subject to double taxation"
The constitutionality of the state in
heritance tax laws has been repeatedly
tested in the courts and has usually
been sustained Those which have had
to be reframed have generally been
held to have had some specific flaw, al
though sound in principle. When our
first national inheritance tax, that or
the civil war, came before the federal
supreme court, where it was held to be
a direct tax and therefore unconstltu-
tional. the court held it to be an excise
and therefore constitutional. Again
our Spanish war inheritance tax-the
stamp tax on probates of wills and let
ters of Observation-Disclosures attacked
on the ground that the federal govern
ment was without authority to tax the
transmission or receipt of property. but
tne supreme court denied that the
states power of regulation was what
was taxed. The supreme court mas
also denied the contention that the pro-
gressive scale of the Illinois state IN
heritance tax violated the fourteenth
amendment In this case Justice Brew
err gave the only dissenting opinion
Thus was it settled by the highest trl-
bunal of the land that progressive TAX
alton is not a denial Of the equal pro-
lection of the laws. But the conStltu-
tionality of the exemption feature or
inheritance taxes seems to be stln
hanging fire.
Summing up the principal criticisms
of the proposed death duty, it is found
condemned because it would be class
discrimination; because it would con-
stitute not only double but triple tax
alton in states which have such tax
levied in the same year with prop
erty tax; because it would cause hard
ships in cases of deaths in quick sue
cession; because it would therefore be
unjust to families with low heredi-
tary rates of longevity; because it is
tax on widows and orphans" be-
cause it discourages industry and thrift
and drives away capital; because it is
easily evaded by gifts during life and
because almost all estates are pressed
for ready money at the time that it
would fall due.
The arguments for it are quite as
varied 1t is praised because it would
be tax according to the ability of the
taxpayer and a means of collecting
taxes which have been evaded by prop
erty owners during their lives; because
it would minimize chances of fraud,