The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-05-10
as TO INHERITANCE TAXES

AS TO INHERITANCE TAXES
Those who do not believe that the
tariff, even after the changes that the
new bin Will make when enacted. viii
provide enough revenue, in addition To
! the internal revenue taxes, TO maintain
! the rate of expenditure TO which Con
grcss seems committed, have been rely.
ing ON Fcdcral-imposed inheritance
tax TO help out, This because it has
! been conceded that the United States
Supreme Court would hold m income
tax to be unconstitutional But the
| probability is now conceded that the
! United States Senate viii not agree to
a Federal inheritance lax, this because
! them-imposc an inheritance tax Of
their own, and the two impositions
would either create the hardship of
double taxation that would be onerous
and conhscatory, or else might clash.
| If the Senators from these thirty-SiX
States should oppose the imposition of
Federal tax, so as TO reserve that
source of revenue to their States cX-
clusiycly, then in case the revenue were
deficient, some other largely productive
source Of Federal revenue would have
to be sought. As to the practical effect
of the imposition of a Federal inherit
ance tax, we find the subject very fair
ly and comprehcnsively discussed as fol
lows. in the New York Commercial;
Just what the United States senate will
do with the inherltance-taS feature OF
the Payne bill or whether the finance
committee viii project some such pro-
postal in It's own bin to be reported later
IS all merely conjecture OF course, bu1
the publication recently OF n special re-
port from the department Of commerce
and labor on the operation of the in
heritance tax in Great Britain was doubt
less intended to throw some light on the
subject at time when IL might be
their deIiberation-an opportunity thnt
the members of the lower chamber did
not have.
From this report It appears that the
population Of about fortyfour millions,
or about half the size OF ours here in the
United states yields on an average
around S90. .OO0O0O Il ycar-in 1908, S9S,-
OOO.O0O In round numDcrs--of which $IG,-
100000 was allotted 10 the cNchequer and
5000, 900 was distributed back TO the
than $500 are exempt from this tax; on
the others the levy ranges from | per
cent on estates from $500 to s25Oo up to
10 per cent on estates Of $4,000, 900 TO
$4,000. 900. Above s5.000.000 there is a
graduated scale calculated on the re-
mainder above ST. 500 600 and reaching 10
per cent on the first s. 000. 900 and - per
cent on the remainder up To Sl5.000,000.
which Is the limit. With these figures
and and other details before him an unthlnk-
that an inheritance tax as federal i'm
position in this country would be good
thing. and especially IL about 30 per cent
OF the revenues from IL could he distrib-
uted locally, as IN Great Britain.
A significant and striking difference In
i,l the two. situations however; is this;
collect inheritance taxes for their own
use; the aggregate yield is about sl2,
OoO.oO q year. the revenue in New York
state alone for the last fiscal year cEJcd
prior to October |. 1908. having heen
$5.i@5. .39i-or nearly half the whole
amount COLLECTED in all the states fyr
enforced: in Nebraska the tax goes d
rectly 10 the counties; while in Texas, the
law having, been in operation only lit-
available as yet. Now. the provisions Of
the house inheritance tax proposal follow
quite closely the features OF the New
cral law. estates here would have TO pay
over about $500. 900 year into the state
treasury and then another $500, 900 a
. .
Britain there arc no local inheritance
taxes TO he paid. and the government
pays about third Of its collections back
into local treasures; In other words, the
proposal here is to levy a double In
herltance tax In thirty-siX states. And
ii is not easily believablc that the con-
stituents of the federal law makers will
stand for the imposition.
Utah is among the States which levy
an inheritance tax. and its Senators
could therefore most likely be depend
ed upon TO vote against a Federal III
hcritance tax. And if the Senators from
all the States which impose an in
heritancc tax vote the same way, and
to reserve this form Of taxation to their
States, that gives the opponents Of such
Federal levy more than two-thirds of
the Senate.
And so the Inheritance Tax PROPOSE
tion Will probably be eliminated from
the bill by the Senate What will take
its place. Probably, if anything more
is needed to produce revenue, an income
tax in some form President Taft
thinks such a tax could be SO framed as
TO meet the objections of the United
States Supreme Court, and be held valid
by that court; and If that view is cor
rect it would solve the difficulty, in the
best possible way.
up JACKSON DEATH