El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-15
Income Tax Lowers Tariff
Upward of 80 Countries Regard the
Income Tax as IN Equal
fzer Of Taxation.
By Frederic J. HasiSin.
DISTINCTION. D. G, May -

lions TO the imposition of an
income tax in the United States has
come from the advocates of protection,
the ground being that the collection Of
such a tax would lessen the demand Of
the treasury for income from customs
collections, and, therefore, it would be
2 blow at the principle Of protection.
L. s. Needs $ei25, 100000
Upon the present basis Of eXpendi-
lures in the United States the amount
OF money needed from customs ranges
around 1925, 0OO, 900. and anything that
tends to reduce this amount. of course,
tends to weaken one of the favorite
arguments Of the prOtectiOnists against
a lowering of the tariff-,that the gov
eminent needs the money. Their Op-
ponents contend that this is no argu-
ment IN favor Of protection at all, since
prohibitiVe duties do not add anything
directly to the public treasury, but
serve only to keep out foreign goods
On the other hand 1t is to be said
that not all prOtectiOnists agree that an
upon protection. Those who hold that
II is not, declare that under our rapidly
expanding governmental activities ad-
ditional appropriations are needed, and
to meet them additional revenues must
be hcoming-aditionaI revenues
that can best be supplied by an income
tax
Tax Assaults Protection
It is probable that no one will deny
that as proposed by the Democrats an
income tax is an assault upon protec-
ton They propose to use it as a
means of revenue raising that not only
VIII permit them to cut out prohibitive
duties entirely, but to lower some rev
enue-prodUcing duties as well. With
out this tax the Democrats could not
cut tariff duties below a point where
they would yield an annual revenue of
over $500, 100000. With this income
#1-- III
point where they Will yield 500, 600, 600
less.
Expansion Calls for More Money
The great expansion Of the national
demands for revenue that has taken
place. shows that If any kind of tax
which We choose TO levy is kept at even
an approximately normal rate from
time TO time new methods must be
found Of raising such revenue In the
early days Of the republic, when there
was an especial pinch in government
finances, a direct tax appOrtioned
among the states, was levied. For
nearly a Lalf century before the civil
war the customs receipts were about
states needed to carry on the affairs
the government Then came the great
war, and everything in sight had to
be taxed, with the result that the in
ternal revenue taxes were created.
After the war these taxes on prOQuc-
ton were retained for the purpose Of
meeting the interest on the national
debt, and they have been continued so
long that everybody seems now to take
them as matter Of course Now the
country has come to a pass where even
these two forms of taxation do not
yield enough TO meet the expenditures
of the government in lean years, and
Uncle Sam seeks something that VIII
save him from putting up the ordinary
internal revenue taxes and the rev
enue-prOducing clauses Of the tariff
law.
Taxation Less In the Z. $.
Taxing authorities generally agree
that the United States taxes its peO-
pie less heavily than any other prtnci-
pal country in the world If the Amer
lean people were willing to bear the
same burdens Of taxation that are
cheerfully borne by the British, the
German. the French, and the other
nations Of Europe. a simple system OF
internal revenue taxation would yield
billion where now IL yields a few hund-
red million dollars
The one plain lesson OF the history
of American taxation is that in these
latter days, when so much is needed,
that no one tax viii meet all Of the
purposes and emergencies Of the
country, and that supplemental taxa
ton must be rendered possible If ma
tiOnal life is to be assured. A national
land tax as the engine Of raising the
revenues would be outrage
ously high; q national customs tax to
meet them all would demand a tariff
wall higher than the highest of all the
high priests Of protection would enact
and an internal revenue tax TO keep the
treasury solvent would force the price
OF drinks and smokes up 50 high, OF
else compel the extension Of the tax 10
so many commonplace subjects, that
the people would rise in protest It IS
by experimenting one tax with an
other and understanding them both
with a third that sufficient revenue
can be raised and the objections of the
people fOrestalled.
"Unconseious Taxes
The national government has the ad-
vantage Of the state government IN the
matter Of taxatiOn-nearly all Of It's
taxes are unconscious taxes The
man who buys a suit of clothes made
of cloth Of English weave cannot tell
how much ne has contributed to the
United States treasury by the trans
action Likewise, the man who smokes
a box Of Havana cigars knows nothing
of what Uncle Sam gets out Of the price
he paid for them Perhaps no man IN
America could calculate within 40 per
cent Of just how much tax he pays
Uncle Sam each year through the Gus
toms houses. Not knowing what MS
burden is, and indeed in many instances
ignorant Of the fact that he is bur-
dened at all such taxes do not arouse
opposition No one thinks of Directing
to the internal revenue taxes, and the
objections made to the tariff taxes are
not based upon the amount the govern
ment exacts. but upon the alleged fact
that home manufacturers use these
rates as a shelter from competition
Income Tax Is Different
With the income tax it is different
There a man calculates it in dollars
and cents. He knows exactly what his
burden is, and that knowledge makes
it seem the heavier. It follows that
there is more dissatisfaction and often
an effort TO dodge the burden It is
plain that only a long process Of educa-
ton could lead the American people TO
stand and be taxed as they are, if they
could tell just how much that is. If an
income tax were the sole source OF
raising revenues the rates would have
to be so high or the exemption so low
that there would be serious trouble.
Il has been suggested in some
quarters that the American income tax
ought to be levied in the same way
that the inheritance tax in England is
levied-the general government i'm
posing and collecting il and turning a
specified part OF IL over TO the states
for their use. It is pointed out that
the general property tax to a large
degree has had the word failure writ
ten across its face.
With personal property becoming
more and more intangible every year,
taxes upon il has become cor
respOndingly easy The story is told
of a former United States senator gen
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