Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1912-10-23
SEVERE BLOW AT BADLAW
ATTY. GENERAL BANCROFT
LANDS ON INCOME FARCE
Law Officer of the State Declares IL a
Burden on Industry BlameS' IRE
sponsibIe Office-seekers.

The Wisconsin income tax law i'm
poses no burden upon the Idle capital
it taxes only earnings, including wages
and interest. il is, therefore, burden
upon Industry and capital The tramp
and loafer pay no income tax Idle
capital. the miserss hoard, pays no in
come tax. The burden is laid upon the
! shoulders of the wage-earner, whose
skill. industry and educated intelligence
earns more than $500 a year. Under
| this law millions boarded n banks in
times of firsnciai stress and industrial
disaster contribute nothing TO the bur
den of public expense. Capital is cow
ardly In times of panic and distress,
capital is withdrawn from industry.
AT the very moment when its services
are most needed it seeks the security
of bank vaults and inaccessible hiding
places, leaving the burden of disaster
upon the shoulders of that very class
of citizers " no alone are affected by
the operations of the income tax Jaw,
those who are actively engaged in the
industrial and commercial life Of the
country.
The only purpose or excuse for taxa
ton is to provide for the revenue nee
essary to meet public expenditures. 1t
follows that public expenditures should
be limited to such as are necessary to
the public veal. Extravaganza and
waste are more reprehensible in public
affairs than in the case of individuals,
and in any event indulgence invites
disaster and retribution.
The theory of raising public revenue
- Il ~
for the maintenance of governmental
institutions. as government affords the
only means for the Establishment of
justice, the insurance of domestic tran
guilty, the promotion of the general
welfare and the perpetuation of the
| blessings of liberty those essentials of
| free institutions specifically enumer-
ated in the preamble to the Constitu-
ton of the United States As all citi-
zens share in the blessings of govern
ment, it is considered just that all
should share in Its maintenance in pro-
portion to their ability. Justice re-
quires that every dollar should bear
| its just and proportionate share of the
tax burden, no matter 10 whose pocket
it may be found and regardless of
| whether it has been active in promot-
ing public enterprise and industry or
| lying idle end unprodactivs. Ii is one
of the limitations of free government
that no tax can be levied upon its citi-
zens which is not justified by necessity
or the common veal. II is the highest
evidence of good government if its bur
dens are light. There is neither rea-
son nor excuse for any form of taxa
ton except to meet the expenditures
made necessary for the general welfare.
If this theory of taxation is right, the
Wisconsin income tax i fundamentally
wrong. Il violates the law of uniform.
| Try. 1t encourages the Withholding of
capital from industry and enterprise.
II discourages investment. 1t includes
the iniquity of taxing the home owner
upon the rental value of his residence
Any system which encourages idle
ness and discourages industry is essen
TALLY wrong and incapable of defense
Capital has been termed the life blood
of country. When invested in indus
try and commerce and given fire e
and untrammeled circulation, it gives
life and vigor to the body polite Labor
finds employment and prosperity en-
sues. Capital lying idle and dormant
produces industrial paralysis. In such
cases tonic is better than an emetic.
No act of Legislative body could be
more reprehensible or unjustifiable
than the enactment of law which
places the citizens Of its state at dis
advantage in competition with the cit
liens of foreign state. The ruling
powers in any state or nation are spec
| ifically charged with the duty of seek
ing advantage for their own people.
1t is asserted that there are indus
trial corporations doing business in
| Wisconsin whose resident stockholders
under the present law will be compell-
ed to paw as high as six per cent in
come taxes and whose nonresident
stockholders will pay no tax whatever
upon incomes derived from the Wis
consin industry. Because of giving
their time and ability to the active
management of their business interests,
which necessitates their residence in
this state, citizens of Wisconsin who
invest in Wisconsin industry are re-
quired to pay annual tribute for the
privilege of remaining residents of this
state.
In effect, Wisconsin is made a penal
colony for those who have builded
homes, improved farms and engaged in
industrial enterprise within it's borders.
One feature of the law should be of
ESPECIAL INTEREST TO THE FARMERS.
Section 1887 m-l2 provides that when
ever the assessor of incomes or the
county board of review shall have rea-
son to believe the return made by any
person is incorrect, the assessor or
board of review may go back for per-
lOd of three years and make such ad-
ditions or corrections to the next as
ses,men. as he or they shall deem pro-
per. The law provides no method by
which the citizen can avoid this arbi-
trary assessment The same section
contains a mild and salutory provision
10 the effect that in case no return be
made or if false return be made, that
portion of the income arbitrarily in
creased shall pay double rate, and in
addition the transgressor may be com
PEELED to pay fine of 500 90 together
with one years imprisonment.
Very few farmers keep accurate ac-
count of their incomes. This is an cleo.
ton year, and those high salar;ed gen
tlemen who administer the income tax
law have not as yet manifested any dis
position TO exercise their power in the
face OF the indignant protest now being
made in opposition of the law, but if
the law is not repealed there may fol-
low a general re-assessment. There
will be no elections next year to deter
jealous officials from enforcing the law.
Of further interest to the farmer and
the home owner is the fact, verified by
experience in other states. that the law
will prove inadequate to produce sui
fieient revenue, in which case the de-
ficiency must necessarily be supplied