The Washington herald., 1915-09-15
Taxes Here and In Iowa.


disc" says writer in summing up the automo-
bile business. The lowest estimate placed on the
value of the sold in 1914 was $500, 900,
and $4,000 of the were sold in Iowa. The
figures further show that the people of Iowa
spent $4o,oooooo for automobiles and $1o,-
100000 for gasoline and repairs So the farmers
and townspeople in Iowa held the record blow
ing in $5o,oooooo for bubble wagons and to
keep them going, when other people in other parts
of the country were complaining of hard times.
New York could hardly beat the record of Iowa
for spending money joy riding and the Iowa
people supposed to take life seriously as do
their Senators in their efforts to reform the Dis
trict of Columbia
But Iowa has by thrift and good crop seasons
grown rich. The Iowa people the richest
people in the United States They have a greater
per capita wealth than the people in other States.
They say so, and the Census man confirms their
statement This per capita wealth in Iowa is
$3.50 for every man. woman and child in the
State. They can afford to spend money on autos,
and no one in the East will begrudge them their
bubble wagons or try to limit their speed across
the prairies. And having acquired the habit of
spending their incomes on luxurics, these richest
people in the country may, in time, indulge in the
luxury of paying income tax just like the peo-
pie in the East who do not boast of their riches
but have formed habit of paying taxes.
These rich people in Iowa have, apparently,
not thought of this way of proving their claims,
but Senator Cumnins ought to remind them that
really rich people can long make the rest of
the country believe them unless they pay an in
come tax 1t is the one sure badge of aristocracy
and it is unfortunate that there are so few Iowa
people in the class. Just think of it, These two
of ~
$4,000 autos and spent S5oooo,ooo for joy riding
last year paid less of an individual income tax
than did the third of million poor people living
here in the District of Columbia. 1t appears in
credible, but the Commissioner of Internal Rev
enue gives the figures, crediting to the great rich
State of Iowa S2643I5 and to the little District of
Columbia which has no Senators or Representa-
tves, the sum of $37S673. At this rate the rich
people of Iowa paid about IL cents per capita and
the poor people in the District paid SI.I4 per
capita individual income tax.
But we cannot successfully controvert the state
ncnt that Iowa is rich. The Census says
that the Iowa people have nearly eight billions
OF wealth and the little District here has little
more than billion. So, measured by wealth, the
Iowa man paid 3 cents each $1,000 and the Dis
trict paid 81 cents each $1,000 of wealth
as an individual income tax.
The only way account for these contra
dictons is the theory that the Iowa people
have been busy gathering riches and buying
automobiles that they have not had time to study
the income tax law and the blanks sent out by the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue which give
explicit instructions how to make returns and pay
this CIV tax to the Federal government. The
people here in the District can, perhaps claim no
superior virtue in understanding these matters,
for the government knows all about all personal
and business affairs OF the people here, and it
would be foolish for any District to hide
any part of his income from the Treasury officials
1t is barely possible that the Iowa people did
not consider the Ssoooo,ooo spent for automobiles
as having any relation their incomes last year
They may have looked these $4,000 autos just
as they did $4,000 calves, colts, lambs pigs or
chicks, as having grown on the farm belonging to
the farm, and counted their incomes by what they
had in bank the close of the year. after all debts
we're paid, including the $4,000 900 for autos and
gasoline, and lot more money spent for clothes,
coal gas, roast beef potatoes and other living ex-
Denses. The poor District man was not allowed
10 overlook any of these items OF expenditure.
He had to report his earnings, not his savings. |
The Iowa man has, apparently, gone at this new
AK in the other way. He will have to change and
pay as much income tax as the District man if |
le wants us to believe that he is the richest man
n the country.