The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-25
THE CORPORATION TAX.

LIE OOhPORAIlON Ian,
The word which comes from Wash
iugton with regard to the prospect 70
Including a tax on corporations in th'
tariff bill is favorable, A canvass o
the Senate is being made on this propo
sition, with the judgment of those bes
qualified to speak on the prospective
vote, that the corporation tax plan WI
win. And an experienced member o.
the Lower House gives it as his judg
ment that if the Senate Incorporates
this tax, the House will agree TO it,
The programme is to keep the exact
terms of the proposed amendment un
der cover until 1T is sprung in the
Senate, 1t is certainly in good hands
when Attorney General Wickersham
and Senator. Root are in charge Of the
formulation of this new part Of the
tariff bill, And when so proposed IN
the Senate, strenuous opposition will be
made to any amendment offered.
! The intimation that the corporation
tax proposition Will be antagonized by
! the income tax amendment does no;
necessarily follow in the least, The
income tax amendment can and practi'
cally will stand on its own merits
But The Likelihood is that the Senate
will vote down the immediate proposal
to establish nm income tax, in favor
of President Taft s suggestion that the
action on the income tax should take
the form of constitutional amend
ment.
Certain frivolous objections have
been urged against the corporation tax.
One of these is in communication
from Brooklyn man TO the New
York World. wherein it is urged that
the imposition Of such tax would
"mean a vast national army of official
spies upon corporations to be appointed
by the party IN power at Washington
and under its control. II means more
ofice-holders to prey upon the earn
ings of the masses, more patronage for
the party in control, more corruption
at the capital Of the nation This
gentleman is indulging in something Of
nightmare When, under the old in
come tax law of the war time, corpor
ations and individuals wore taxed up
vast army of spies and officials The
revenue Offices, represented now by the
district collectors of internal revcnuc,
found II easy to send ont the blanks,
collate the returns, and collect the tax
on incomes of individuals, firms, and
corporations, without having any army
of spies or multiplying Federal officials
The present internal revenue collection
Offices could do all ihe work required
with but little or no addition to their
course, in case a corporation made an
evidently fraudulent return, that he
Attorney General might be asked to dc
tail one Of his assistants 10 make IN
vcstigaEion. But the proposition that
an army Of spies or vast increase OF
Federal officIaldom would he necessary
to collect this tax is erroneous, And
the further proposition that the pub
licity given in this respect would work
10 The advantage of minority stock
holders in corporations is even more
fallacious; because the corporation tax
requirement would have nothing TO do
necessarily with the organization Of
corporations, but would simply require
a return of their net incomes. IL would
not he needed 10 inquire who held the
stock in the corporation; neither 10
inquire whether the majority or the
were in accord in the returns
ms made, And, indeed, it is impossible
to see how either interest would OBJ
tam any advantage one way or the
other in the imposition of this tax. It
may he said, however, that If the cor
poration tax would give minority
better chance TO find
out what was going on in the inside,
and In the secret operations of the con
Germ, and so be better able 10 protect
themselves, that would he an argu
ment in favor of the corporation tax,
and not against it.