The Washington herald., 1914-07-13
THE OPEN FORUM
Reference to Kansas and lis Tiny In
come Tax Resented.

To the Editor: The editorial under
heading prosperity Without Income. IN
The washington Herald. Of Monday. July
8. believe to be unfair to Kansas and
in the sense misleading as TO the sources
Of the income tax. ~
Your statements would lead one TO be-
liieve that Kansas did not pay all the
income tax Il should have paid on S00.-
OOO 900 wheat crop. when. IN fact, no tax
was due on the $l00Ooo,o00 crop Kansas
boasts OF this year as none Of IL was
harvested and threshed on December u.
1913. the end of the taxable year, and
the income from the wheat crop in Kan
sas last year lacked a great deal OF
reaching 800. 600 The last paragraph
Of the editorial does not relieve the first
part OF this ambiguity.
| One of the best things about the Kan
4 sas wheat crops Is that the income from
them Is quite evenly distributed. The
wheat acreage Of the average Kansas
farmer is limited TO what can be piowed.
sown and harvested by himself and his
family. with additional help used only
during cutting and threshing time. and
the net income from this does not aver
/ age 1900 but still Is a very comfortable
amount for people who do not indulge
in fast living. costly entertainments. etc.
The automobile is simply a necessity.
displacing the horse As there are few
individuals or companies in Kansas farm
ing large tracts II will be appreciated
that even from a S100O0O.O0O wheat crop
there would not be much income tax re-
/ turned.
The editorial in question states: But
New York has come forward with the
payment of 81. 50. go, or a little less
! than oHe-haIf of the total income tax
collected" The amounts collected from
II. -.
| ing quoted as having paid $40. .95o-u. There
are people who may not understand that
most Of the 81. 80. 900 income tax paid in
/ New York was not from incomes actually
earned in New York but was derived
/ from the incomes Of companies whose
main offices are located in what happens
to be the financial center Of the country.
New York City. The main oftices Of
/ most Of the large corporations doing
| business in Kansas are not in Kansas.
| For instance. Kansas City, Kan, is one
Of the greatest packing centers in the
/ world. but the income from that indus
! try earned there is probably reported
! from Chicago. III. The income Of the
railroad companies in Kansas amounts
to a large SUN but very little, IL any, Of
] IL Is reported to the credit of Kansas.
I believe. therefore, that the statistics
! given in the editorial are not Of true
/ relative value and that the whole editor
ial places Kansas in a very false light,
| especially in view Of the statement that
| The people at whom the income tax
was leyeIed seem to have been fairly
honest in making returns. and II there
| is to be an inqUisitiOn to locate the in
| comes that have not contributed. II
ought to be where they advertise their
wealth but do not allow the revenue
! collector to locate the incomes that are
to supply automobiles to every family
/ in the State in the next four years
| l do not believe these phases Of the
situation were carefully considered be-
/ fore publication Of the editorial referred
| TO. but it is a slur on the honesty Of
Kansans in general and should be cor
rected RUFUS B. FUNK