The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-10-05
WHAT ONE LAW IS DOING.

The corporation tax, during the past
year. paid s25,OOO,OOO into the treasury
OF Uncle Sam. The democratic press
has little to say about this mastery
piece Of legislation. BY all economic
reason, it is most calculated to act as
dwelling force between the increment
profits of the rich-and taxes which
fall upon the comparatively poor.
1t comes on good authority that next
year the corporation tax will be more
effective. The corporations have quit
trying to evade the law-and most
cases which were in controversy have
been withdrawn from the courts. 1t
is said that next year the corporation
tax will net the national treasury
S50,00O,O0O. This sounds mighty good
to the man who works for a days pay.
This sounds like paternal government
with a true ring to it.
The intrinsic fairness Of the new
law lies in the fact that a corporation
with no profits need pay no tax. Gov
eminent supervision will be such this
year-that it will require most elab-
| crate system Of Justification to beat
the government experts who will look
into the books of all corporations.
| In the year soon to pass corporations
declared they had taken no inventory
at the first of the year and the gov
eminent conceded to them the right
to guess at the value of their holdings
This coming year these firms must
take inventory or the officers will be
liable to arrest.
During the present year-when the
corporations figured up their twelve
months protits-most Of them took all
the expenses for the past ten years
and put them in as depreciations
against profits. In their next reports
they have no alternative but to report
| truthfuIly the expense and losses of
/ twelve months only. Their previous
reports will prevent them from pulling
the wool over the eyes of the govern
ment officials.
In view of these facts it seems
reasonable that the next revenue
from the government tax will be more
than $50,0OO,000. There is no Ameri-
can-barring possibly a foreign in
vestor-who does not see and know
and appreciate the merit of the corpor-
alton tax. A widow woman cannot
start a candy store on a suburban
corner-a barber cannot put in a lit
tie one chair shop-and tinker can
not start little hole in the wall with
out paying a city and county license.
The old tavern keeper who dispenses
potheen to his coterie of heighbors
pays no less than three licenses, city
county and federal.
All of these are far in excess by
proportion to what the mammoth cor
porations pay of their profits. The
grocery man may have no profits at
/
The corporations have been having
fine and fancy business, getting by
with little tax for long time. This
tax is making them contribute as they
should to the expense of the govern
ment. Stop and consider what the
corporation tax means to this COM
monwealth. Without assuming any
increase of business for a decade of
years, this source of revenue estimated
at s5O,O00,OOO year would build thirty
first class battleships worth SIS, 600, O0C
each, an entire navy.
1t would pay for the construction OF
the Panama canal, or 1t would pay the
cost of war greater than the last
transatlantic unpleasantness
With such accomplishments as this
the passage of the postal savings
bank law--and the railroad LAWN
Guiding the creation of the railroad
court-the Taft administration car
laugh at the anvil chorus of discredit.
ed democracy-w is trying to picI
holes in the recent effective legislation
If the American citizen will go bacl
to the farm and associate happiness
with blue shirt and a pillow instead O.
going to the congested city to live ii
an unventilated fiat the problem o
the high cost Of living win not entel
the political discussions Of the day
nor be charged to the tariff.
"a with statistics showing the rati
of divorces to marriages as one to fiy,
those who stay doubled up till dealt