The Washington herald., 1917-05-22

| speaking OF gamblers and parasites),
while naturally benefiting them. penentS
| the community great deal more
The income of hospitals. institutions OF
learning ana OF art, and many other al
tru1stic enterprises depends largely upon
the voluntary taxation, aggregatlng
great many millions annually, 70 Which
| those men in America who have attaln-
| ed financial success have always VII
| lngly submitted themselves-more So
PROBABLY than in any other country. VINO
y TO take care of all of those institu-
| ions If extreme taxation compels the
rich TO cease their contributions?
| 80 The arguments above set forth ap-
ply equally to the proposal OF leyylng
an income tax rising to an excessively
flgn level, as, for instance, the suggest
ea a TAX OF 80 per cent on incomes over
SoOo,Oo. There. again, the test should
De whether so radical a tax is wise and
| try.
The nations in Europe have been fight
under an Infinitely greater financial
strain than our country is or will be,
YET none of these nations has resorted
70 extreme taxation of income. Even
In Great Britain, whose financial bur-
aeh is the heaviest OF ALL whose debt
wbo many any times the total Of ours and
Mo %no mas loaned about 5000, 10000 to her
es, tle income tax on maximum in
CoInes is today no more than approx
niattety ma 40 per cent In the last bud
GET introduced couple of weeks ago,
l
Hecnhed 10 consider an increase in the
income tax rate, because of the dam
ssing enect which such increase would
J nave on The country's business.
IN France and Germany the burden
iald on incomes is much lower than in
England. In Canada, where war loans
ns nsFe cooee Oeen raised equivalent on the basis
~ ~ comparative population to what would
be more than SIC, 0,OOO OO0, 900 for America,
no Federal income tax exists at all.
/ 9ouDt whether this latter fact is gen.
known rhaf baV
ls slshlhcance is receiving the measure
ol serious consideration which IL de-
! S;ho,, SseaNes, understand that it is the de-
hoefate policy OF the Dominion govern
.5 nlSht not TO impose an income tax, in
oaueT 10 attract capital to Canada There
tam 1e httle question that If our income
| taAalon ls hxed at unduly and unneces-
sarhy nigh rates. while Canada has no
taA, men OF enterprise will seek that
soni esTGntiy and there will be a large out
cannot be without effect upon our nTos-
perity' resources and economic power.
a me hnancial dislocation. the discoyr-
oS uhduly heavy taxation of incomes will
@ hot ohly act as drag on enterprise and
constructive activity, but 1t will make
To- eHCeeaInEiy oCeEiy dificult, If not impossible,
% %toF corporations to sell securities and thus
70 OBTAIN funds to conduct their busi-
hess-especially also as investors will he
teartqh ns1a hli that high rates of taxation once
established will not easily be reduced
10 normal levels even when the nresent
emergency is passed.
EXtrayagance, lOg-rolling, the unwise
anu Ihenclent expenditure of money nv
governmental bodies are among the he,
setuhg sins OF democracy: the formula
OIn OhCe found the machinery once en-
! p4oyed Tor the raising of huge reyapNns
are apt to make the way Of wastef,Ii
government spending all TOO temptineiv
tdsS: IL must not be forgotten tSat
din,iniSh must necessarily, by that much,
TTnIIiiiilSh T,IiiSh the surplus income fund of the
IndIlVldual and that both Theoretically
ana t actually the spending of money nv
the senee n1nent ar. cannot and does not have
perlty ana enterprise as productive use Of
NJ rhu sS tpius FUNDS by the individual
tpai ne sgdnt sgentlmentai ne and thereby the ac-
pe conhned to the relatively small NM
irdo oi people IN possession OF very large
csTseS b,, tbn Inc disturbance and fear
cessively high ratio Of taxatiop an o'.o5 e&-
Snen %nen applied to a relatively few IL
moderatS U%eG to spread spread to those also Of more
any umid. 1t will not take risks eTrcrt
IN the expectation of comnensmratoHO ~ rL p'
Tewe wSEa; rd apd 20 If it sees the danger Of its
bv N%SIh, 113h,d II VII anticipate that menace
! o; Dy %iithdrawing from the field oF naDe
fent Tfcn,Ve INVESTMENT to the greatest ex-
extreme rigor an9 no hnd means to avoid the
ill., Huch Is this the case, that in
cnhe TO the belief that a ma,i5,,,r. IN,
%oSon nroSnca OF say 80 1-S per cent would
mum taxation OF 50 per cent - rmaAl-
| greater one Il not a
The food Of securities which would
pe coming Tor sale in order 10 escana
extreme income taxation would creota e
grave condition of Generalization in The
investment markets of the country. with
coHpt rSIi'ing rT!. inevitable effect upon the
90 The tax recently enacted bv Can
sresS imposing burden of s per cent
0n 0nr business Cnnt profits over and above S
! gardless of whether such profits boHo
any relation to war conditions or NOT
Is unscientifc and unsound. Qnciden,
ttaIIy' II is a strange provision Of that
law that it applies only to copartnerS
ships and corporations. while an in
| dlVldual engaged in business however
prontable is not taxedO The law should
posed. P'0
| 1t is unquestionably right and in sc-
! Gordance with both good morals and
possible, the enrichment of business and
business men through the Gala nifty of
war. But the recently enacted and
| now contemplated so-Called excess profit
tax does not accomplish that 1t taxes
not merely the exceptional profit. l. e.,
the war profit. 1t lays a burden not
on business due TO war, but on all busi-
ness. 1t does this at a time when it is
more than ever necessary that energy,
enterprise. efficiency, the commercial
and financial brain and work-power of
the nation, be stimulated to their ut
most in order to make good, so far as
| possible the waste and destruction
! which goes with war. Any scheme OF
] taxation which imposes an unnecessary
taxation upon commercial enterprise and
| thereby handicaps the nation in its busi-
ness activities-especially in world com
petition with other nations-is unsound
and bound to be gravely detrimental,
| hnf fn fhn hI1G m ST
to the wage-worker; in fact, to every
element of the population.
1t is worth noting that England, the
conduct of whose finances, based upon
| the experience of many generations as
| the leading financial power has always
| been a model for other nations to follow,
| has imposed an excess profit tax on
| business during the war merely to the
extent that such profits are attribu
table to the war, i. E., to the extent that
OPdELIA'S SLATE.