The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1909-07-22
THE CORPORATION TAX.



Managers of Big Concerns Object.
Many corporations continue TO pro-
test against the corporation tax. They
propose to bring a test case to decide
its constitutionality. This is the lat
est news from Washington.
Yet not few of these same cor
rcrations were heard from a short
time ago to quite different effect.
They were demanding a stiff reduction
of tho Dingley tariff They were point
ing out quite properly its out.ived
conditions. They were telling the adj
min.stratiOn to make good the deficit
sure to result from tarin reduction
in some other field. They apparently
didn't care what field. They left that
To the administration.
The administration took the him.
1t sought another field and brought
forward the corporation tax. 1t esti-
mated that this tax would fill the hole
made by tariff reduction. It's course
was natural and logical. Money mad
to he got for government expenses
Somebody nad 10 pay
SO tho demand for tariff reduction
Is about to be answered-not fully but
partly answered The necessary con-
sequence of the reduction is to be pro
yided for. And yet many corporation
managers are not happy. Having had
their wish. they would modify its con-
sequences. While eating their cake
they would like to keep 1t. too. They
cannot, or will not, realize that IN
these DAYS of heavy governmental ex-
penditures a concession at one point
must be made up at another.
Reduced revenue from the customs
means heavier taxes in some other
quarter. This is a simple. immutabie
fact of the government to-day. No
amount of arguing first on one side
and then on the other can alter IT,
No volume of general discourse can
obscure 1t.
, There is no magical way of getting
public revenues. Now as always 1t Is
simply a question of the homely pro-
cesses of subtraction and addition
The sooner that is learned the better
for all of us.
Our advice to the man who has
cried on one side of his mouth for
tariff reduction and on the other
against the corporation tax is to re-
sign himself to taking his medicine.
He called for the conditions that make
II unavoidable. 1t may not be pleas
ant. But it is much more pleasant
to him than the draught that remains
behind and against which the cor
pcration tax is practically the sole
protection. We mean the income tax.
There is little doubt that the con-
stitutionality of the corporation tax
will be tested. In country as large
as this there is sure to be at least one
man who objects to paying out his
money for taxes sufficiently to pay 1t
out for a lawsuit and a judicial deci-
sion. But suppose that the protest
triumphs there. What then? Would
the victory be worth while? No.
Two years exemption from the OBJ
nOAiOuo tcA ID Gil liC pei SOhoA az al
tage it could mean. In two years all
constitutional objections TO both in
come and corporation taxes would be
removed One of these would surely
be imposed. And the chances are that
it would not be the less onerous. In
other words, two years would probably
bring The income tax.
But the delay could easily mean
some personal disadvantage. The
business situation always scents an
element of danger in insufficient gov
eminent revenues. And a victory in
the law courts would unquestionably
cripple the governments income seri-
ogs1y.
These are matters which the COM
bined tariff reducers and corporation
tax directors might consider with
profit. The time has passed for any
policy of revenue and tax reduction in
Washington. To lower one set of
taxes nowadays means to raise an
other set. 1t is a condition that con-
fronts us and not theory. We all
might as well look the facts in the
face.-Chicago Inter Ocean.