The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-01
AMERICA TO HAVE
 CONTROL OF GOLD / MINING HEREAFTER
That Is Prediction Based Upon Upon Great Britain'S
 Heavy ImpOSt.

London, Dec. 1.-American supre-
 macy in gold mining is one of the probable results of the new war tax ation in Great Britain. While the large gold mines of the world have been mainly opened and managed by
 American mining engineers they have been owned by the British because of a system of finance which brings pVbl1c money to the support of min ing S much more generally than in America where the investing public does not take the same interest in the industry. This structure, where
 by London has become the mining
 capital of the world, is now threat
 ened by the new "excess profits tax
 one of the features of the new war
 budget. ,@
 Discussing the effect of the new
 tax, prominent American mining
 engineer said: Already orders have
 gone out from London to transfer to
 American companies several mines in
 South and Central America, and plans
 for an extensive transfer of control
 of other mines are under discussion
 in the city. Even in ordinary times the insistence of the British author
 ities that income tax must be paid on
 all shares of companies controlled in
 Great Britain regardless of the Ioca- ton of the mine residence of the stockholders had driven some com panies away, notably the Fl Orc of
 Mexico largely owned in France which
 moved its offices to Paris two years ago.
 'sThe most recent taxation makes a more general migration almost cer-
 tain. The new budget proposed a fifty per cent tax of the excess pro fits of all British companies for the period since the beginning of the war. This excess is to be determin- ed by subtracting from the increase of the current year the average income of any two of the preceding three Vears1 This would be parKicut tarly hard on any new business, but ex- tremely in the case of mines which have, just begun to produce, since in their. case there would be nothing to subtract, and consequently the tax would be fifty per cent of the profit 1 to be noted, is, in addition to the or-l dinary taxation including the incom- ] ing tax. The effect on new enterprise es would be especially severeNin the case of mines since theyHrequires1i 1iber- ! al expenditure through several years to bring them to production. The l Brakpan in South Africa, for example, | opened by W. L. Honnold a Michigan mining engineer, absorbed six mil lion dollars in six years and then be- I gan to make 8 profit of about one and | one-half million dollars a year. The I Spring mine nearby is now building 1 a new plant and would normally soon | come into production. These com-d panies, though organized in South | Africa, and already paying heavy reg ular and special war taxes, would | come under the new plan. The gold interests point out that, unlike i the rubber and tea companies, they are not able to charge an increase due to the war on their product. Gold has not risen in value as a result of the war but the cost of mining has risen materially as a result of labor short age, disorganized transport and in creased cost of supplies. Dividends from a mine are a wasting asset and F taxing these profits is like taxing a man on the money he draws from a savings bank.
 Misrepresentation ons are being made Fl and some notifications of the origin il al plan are expected, but in ahy event the taxation on mines is sure to be heavy with no opportunity to recoup by raising prices. A number of conn Danies have issued orders to cut down production to the average of previous years and are stopping. all work of ex- pansion.
 ssAs Great Britain's ownership of thei great gold mines extends around the world and into many countries, wide changes in the industry are certain and they may become of primary in1> portance to the growth of America in ti financial power