Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-20
THE INCOME TAX.
M.-The Tax in England.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

Nowhere else in the world is there af-
forded better picture Of the operation
of the income tax than in England. In
it's present general shape it has been
levied for period of nearly three-auar-
tiers Of century. and during that time
the natural objections to such a tax
have been on the wane until it has now
become a part of the permanent fiscal
policy of the United Kingdom. The tax
is now levied on incomes aSgresating
| nearly S9.OCO.cOoW0. There arc those
who complain about il and inveigh
! against it. some going so far as to say
that it is the most humiliating tax ever
put upon generous nation. others that
it possesses maze of averages and
! bases of calculation that make it sealed
book to any lay mind and still others
who assert that there is infrequently any
| thing about it's administration that is
creditable and often much that is tyran-
meal But the general verdict seems to
be that the tax is a necessary evil and
about as satisfactory as one could rea-
sonaby expect
Perhaps the most influential element in
freeing ii from general complaint is the
fact that the original assessment of the
tax is made by non-salaried representa-
| tives of the local gentry. The people
have confidence in these men. and feel
| that they are. in a sense. their own rep
resentatives. They are largely Circum
=! scribed as to their duties and their work
is carefully checked up by the representa-
| tives of the British treasury. This COM
| bnation of Capitalization and local rule
| prevents any charges of bureaucracy on
| the one hand and any loss of revenue by
assessments made too low on the other.
BY utilizing happy system of choos-
| ing what are known as additional COM
| m sionerS
Cooperation of Business from the
Community Obtained. r., a na.;ns o.
community for the purpose of assisting
in the assessment of the tax the CO.
operation of the business community is
obtained. and but little trouble is ex-
perienced in obtaining proper assessment
OF business incomes. Another striking
phase OF the administration of the Brit
| ish income tax laws is the absence of in
| quisitorial procedure. The British au-
thorities steer middle course between
the laxity that makes a law more hon
ored in its breach than in its observ-
ance' on the one hand; and the rightly
OF enforcement that defeats it's own pur-
pose, on the other. The British author
tiles aim to collect all possible income
| taxes at their source rather than to al
low them to go into the hands of the tax
payer and be accounted for by him. For
instance, here is a man who has an in
come OF 10000, which comes as dividend
| earnings in some utility corporations; the
governments share of that income is de-
| Quoted from the payments before they
| are made. That is taxation at the source
ana IL seems to bear down more easily
| upon the taxpayer than if he had to
| reach down In his pocket and pay it.
| The British government has Kept the
tax down to about per cent, and most
British citizens are represented as will
| Ing to pay shilling a pound on their
| income. The British income tax laws or
! today do not burden all classes of income
alike They assume that not every sol
of income is equally well able to bear the
same burden of taxation. SO there has
come about system of differentiation
| which meets these objections imposing
the heaviest taxes upon those incomes
most able to bear them and the lightes,
| taxes upon those classes of incomes lea al
able to meet them AS it became eviden,
| that great incomes were being built up il
| began to be generally feIt that the man
with a ten-thouSand-pound income was
| able to pay higher rate than the mar
| with nve-hundred-pound income, and
| so the super-tax. was brought in. Thus
has England gone forward grating on to
the old tree all the new branches that
progress demanded. until today her in
come tax laws meet English conditions
and adjust the burdens of taxation in q
generally satisfactory way.
| 1t is interesting to follow the present