Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-04-05
The Income-TaX Law.

The IncOme-IaX Law.
The expediency of an income tax
as a means of raising revenue is OBJ
vious to Mr. Taft, and Attorney-Gen-
eral Wickersham has prepared the
draft of bill To the adoption of
an inheritance tax at the present
time the president is unequivocally
committed
In speech made at Columbus,
Ohio. Aug. 10, 1907, when he was
secretary of war, MIR. Taft said: Il
believe a federal graduated inheri-
lance tax to be useful means of
raising government funds. 1t is cas-
| lily and certainly collected. The in
cidence of taxation is heaviest on
those best able to stand it, and in
directly, while not placing undue re-
striction on individual effort, il
would moderate the enthusiasm fol
the amassing of immense fortunes
I'm times of great national need,
he added, IAN income tax would be OF
great assistance in furnishing means
| to carry on the government, and ii
| is not free from doubt how the su-
preme court with changed member
ship would view new income-taS
| law under such conditions. The
court was nearly evenly divided in
| the last case, and during the civil
war great sums were collected by al
income tax without judicial interior
ence, and it was then supposed with.
in the federal power"
The New York World explains thai
the income-tax decision of the United
! States supreme court to which Mr.
| Taft referred was rendered April S
! 1895. The court held unanimously
that taxation of incomes from stat,
and municipal bonds was unconstitu
tional
| On the question of the taxation o
rents the court divided 6 to 2. Chic
Justice Fuller. Justices Field, Gray
Brewer. Brown and Shiras STOOD
against the law, on the ground tina
taxes on real estate belong to tn,
class of direct taxes and that tn,
taxes on the rent or income of rea
estate, which is the incident of it
ownership. belong to the same class
Justices Harlan and White favored
affirming the law
On the general question of tn,
constitutionality of the law the eigh
justices who sat in the caSe-Justic
Jackson being absent on account o
Observation-Disclosures equally. There
fore Chief Justice Fuller announces
, that on each of these three question
argued at the bar the court espresso,
no opinion:
: First-Whether the said prov
sions as to rent and income from rea
estate invalidate the whole act.
Second-Whether as to the in
, come from personal property, a
such, the act is UNCONSTITUTIONAL, a
laying direct taxes.
Third-Whether any part of tn
, tax, if not considered as a direct ta2
is invalid for want of uniformity O
either of the grounds suggested.
The Cleveland administration S
construed the decision of the ST.
preme court that it abandoned tn
attempt to collect the income Ia
&, provided for in the Wilson bill, say
the World.
On the general question of the cor
stitutionality of the law the coui
2 divided as follows: For the law, Jus
tees Harlan, Bewer, Brown an
White; against the law, Chief Ju.
tice Fuller. Justices Field. Gray an
: Shiras. In view of Mr.. Taft's remar
in his speech about the change
membership" of the court, it is to b
! noted that of the eight justices VIII
t sat in the income-tax case only fou
remain on the bench-Chief JustiC
Fuller, who was against the law O
the general question of constitution
ality, and Justices Harlan, Bewt
and White, who were for it. If
: ksimilar issue we're presented to til
e court the views of the five new men
, bers, Justices Peckham, McKenn
Holmes, Day and Moody, woul
presumably determine the decision