The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-05-31


are unwilling to be taxed and be taxed
stiffly. but that they do not want to
be taxed in such unscientific ways that
will be inequitabie and even viii Grip
pie the business of a good many In
so far as such complaints are justi-
fed certainly they merit careful con-
sideration. If business be so crippled
that ii cannot pay the taxes that are
levied, the purpose of the bill, which
Is to raise money, will be defeated,
great deal of money must be raised,
and it ought to be accepted as a the
Drum that it should be raised in ways
that will create the least disturbance.
Unfortunately, 1t was In the first
of the treasury department to UNDER
take to raise so large a percentage of
the cost of carrying on the war by i'm
mediate taxation. Great Britain after
two years of war put it's taexs up to
a basis of providing about rs per cent
Of the expense We are beginning with
so per cent. This has compelled the
trainers Of the bill to scrape many
sources from which the enormous sum
may be obtained. Cross currents Of
LEGAL interest make it difficult for a
large popular assembly to write any
revenue bill. The result of the at
tempt of the ways and means commit
tee is so unscientfic that 1t looks as
il that committee had simply shut it's
eyes and drawn things blindly, expect
ing that the senate will rewrite the
bill. In the meanwhile the public
shows signs of going crazy in it's in
dignation.
Yet the bill has many good features.
In so far as it has conformed to the
policies of taxing consumption, and es-
pecially Injuries and of raising money
by stamp taxes it is sound Also it
is sound in its plan of raising a great
deal more money by the income tax,
and the excess profits tax, although
the method of applying the latter Is
bad; that is. the scheme of putting 1t
upon the manufacturers. Yet the au-
tomobile Is in the main a luxury and
is fit subject for taxation, such
tax partaking of the nature of tax
on consumption, That would be evil
dent if II were laid directly upon the
user, whereas in putting it upon the
manufacturer it looks like a tax on
production and may affect his sales
and consequently his industry. The
more equitable thing to would be to
put 1t upon the user, which easily
could be done, exempting commercial
users, physicians and other limited
classes of desirable.
The monstrous things about the bill
are the provisions for increased GUS
toms duties for excess profits, and for
second-class postage. The. proposed
increase in tariff rates is made with
out any thought whatever. In putting
10 per cent on all articles now on the
free list 1t disturbs conditions that
have existed from time immemorial
1t may check the importation of the
very things we need for military pur-
poses, take tin for example 1t may
tangle some of our industries with a
red tape at a time when the tendency
should be toward simplihcation. Thus,
we import vast quantity of crude
copper for smelling and refining, which
is now free of duty. Although we
export larger quantity and might
escape payment of duties by cancel
lation of bonds consider the greatly
increased number of officials that
would be necessary to attend to such
operations. And how would it be If
some domestic producers should take
the export trade and leave importing
refiners high and dry p? Moreover
would the government, desiring to
raise money by duties. permit bonding
privileges, anyhow?
We shall discuss the matter of sec
ond-class postage in separate article. !
Let us pass now to the question of !
excess profits. The new bill repeats I
the thoughtless language of the pre-
sent law, which has not yet been in
terpreted by any authority and nobody |
at present knows what it means. The
existing law reads thus:
Actual capital invested means Cd |,
actual cash paid in, (2) the actual /
cash value, at the time of payment. of |.
assets other than cash paid in, and !,
cd paid in or earned surplus and I'M
divided profits used or employed in the
business, but does not include money /
or other property borrowed by the cor
or partnership"
Once the actual capital invested has
been determined, ii Is allowed to earn
per cent free, Any excess over il
per cent is to be subject to a tax at the
rate of per cent, We are now refer
ring to the existing law. The pending
Dill raises the rate, but the principle /
remains the same. But whatever be /
the percentage, on what is it to be cal
culated On invested capital On
capitalized value ? Clearly par value {
Of stocks is not meant Reproduction {
costs would merely produce endless I
disputes, especially in regard to those q
TENS which are not reproducible. Such @
-hings are worth what they are '
worth. If we try to find out the r
money invested at the inception of the @