El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-21

income tax law, but this is
neither due TO the lack of a demand
or the lack of effort to secure its
passage Rather it is due to a hitch
between the senate and the chamber
of deputies. The sentiment in favor
Of such a tax began to rise at the time
OF the revolution Of 1S4S. grew more in
sistent after the creation OF the third
republic, and eliminated. after a half
century Of agitation in 1903, in the
passage of a bill creating such a tax
by the chamber of deputies
System Studied Carefully.
1t seems inevitable that at no dis
( tant date France will join the process
J sion of so odd nations which have in
come tax laws, and If it falls in behind
the United States il viii be the 54th
nation to have such a tax as a part Of
( its fiscal system Then more than two
I fifths of the earth's population viii
: live under income tax laws and the to-
tai collections from such taxes VIII
go far up past the billion dollar mark
The French program as adopted by
( the chamber of deputies borrows from
every source, and it is said that no ma
| ton which ever attempted TO enact an
income tax law went so minutely into
the whole matter as the French have
done The bill as adopted divides in
comes into seven classes or schedules,
as follows. incomes from lands. in
comes from houses, incomes from NOV
able capital. incomes from business
.
/ profits. incomes from wages and sal
/ aries. and incomes from professional
earnings and all other sources not
otherwise provided
Differentiate Taxation.
On the first three classes Of incomes
, the rate is fixed at 4 per cent, with
II percent on incomes from bust
ness profits, and 8 per cent on profess
siOnal earnings, agricultural profits,
and wages and salaries In the case
of the house tax the income is con-
{ sidered to be the rental value of the
property, less One-fOurth in the case
! of dwellings, and less twO-fifths in
the case OF factories. These deduc-
I tiOns are made so as to allow for re-
pairs and depreciation. In the deter
minatiOu of the incomes from land il
is to be considered as the rental value
Of the land, less q reduction of one
fifth for maintenance. The incomes
from houses and lands are to be de-
termined every ten years. Where the
Z incomes are small various attachments
are made.
Movable capital profits are consid-
cred as the income from personal
property, including nearly all govern
ment securities. Wherever possible the
tax on this class of incomes is col
lected a the source. for instance on the
corporations and associations that pay
interest or dividends. Mortgages pay
their tax by means Of a stamp, and Sc
eurities taxes are collected through
bankers.
Business profits.
Business profits are regarded as
those which arise from Industrial or
commercial operations The assess
ment is made upon the basis of an
average Of three years income and tax
payers are invited to make returns Of
such incomes Those having incomes
in excess of 5000 francs. or approx
marely $1,000 are required to make
their reports TO the controller OF
taxes If he is not satisfied with a
report he may ask q modification CT
1t within 20 days If this is not forth
coming the controller may make an
assessment. which shall stand unless
changed by the courts. The tax payer
cannot be required 10 show his books,
but If he is caught attempting TO
dodge the tax il is doubled Incomes
of this nature up to 1850 francs are
exempt and there are attachments on
sliding scale on incomes up TO 90
600 francs.
Tax on Rental Values.
In fixing the tax on incomes from
agricultural operations the income is
presumed to be One-half of the rental
value for such part as is over that
amount Where the income does not
exceed 1900 francs, 1850 francs are
exempt. and there is q sliding scale Of
attachments on income up TO 5000
francs Where the income goes above
1000 francs there are no exemptions
allowed.
In the case Of wages. salaries, and
pensions. the tax IS advanced by the
individuals, associations. or govern
menJs which pay them Every en-
plOyer is required to hand in a list
of employees with the amount paid
. them. In case OF incomes under 5.CUV
francs, or approximately $1,000, two
thirds of the income is exempt. and
above that amount certain attachments
are made. calculated partly on the
basis OF the size of the income. and
partly on the basis of the size Of the
family.
The last schedule. relating to pro-
fessiOnal incomes, is the only one IN
the whole list where compulsory dec
laration applies to all having such in
comes And even here they cannot be
compelled TO reveal any professional
secrets in making their returns There
IS liberal exemption and above Ihat
there are the the usual attachments up
to the point where the tax. ceases to
be burdensOme.
Complementary Tax.
In addition to the regular income
tax levied on all incomes whether OF
natural or of artificial persons, there
is provided what is known as a com
Elementary tax" levied only on nat
ural persons who have an income OF
more than 5000 francs This bears
a close resemblance to the English
super-ta tax. Tt is levied on those who
reside in France without having their
dOmicile there. as well as upon those
who are domiciled there. In the case
rated at seven times their house rent
There is no tax on the first 5000
francs. and thereafter each successive
5000 francs income pays an additional
one per cent until an income of $4,000
francs is reached, when the tax be-
comes ; per cent on the income If any
one who is required by law to pay this
supplementary tax tries to dodge 1T,
or any part OF it by false declarations
the penalty is One-half OF the income
concealed. If he fails to make any re-
turns at all the penalty is three times
the amount of the tax
No InquisitOriuI Board.
Tt viii be seen from this account CT
the French plan that it bOrrOws what
are perhaps the best features Of both
the English and the German laws. Its
schedules follow to large extent the
ideas incorporated in the English law,
but fl differentiates more markedly
between the income that is the sweat
of the brow and the income that is
the product of. invested capital 1t es-
tablishes a lower exemption than the
English law and follows the German
idea of taxing the entire income after
it reaches a point where the Taxpayer
incuIs no hardship in paying it, There