The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-07-18
Some New and Unusual Taxes

revenue Dill, Oh WHICH, luc Wdyo o1hu
means committee is about to start,
is in the usual expostulatory stage
that PROCEEDS the getting down to
objecting to everything suggested
own
Twenty-four billion dollars to be
raised. and eight of the billions to
be gathered in taxes. is Mr.. Nc
Adoo's estimate of what is needed.
Nobody is worrying very much
about the bonds, but it is the in
crease in the amount to be raised
in taxes that is causing the study
of statistics among congressman.
Representative Cordell Hull sug-
gested today a new source of reve-
nue. to be known as regulation
of gifts intevivos." 1t has been
found that people with big incomes
have distributed them among their
children or relatives and escaped
the high income tax rates. Mr..
Hull will offer an amendment to
provide that during the war, where
any person has made a gift Of his
income, he shall be required to
pay a tax on it during the year in
which it was given"
Increase Tariff Duty, Fordney Says.
Representative Fordney, in ad-
vocating an increased tariff duty,
pointed out that the country is now
mighty close to free trade. He said
i the average ad valorem rate of q "
per cent on imports under the Viii
son bill has been reduced to COS per
cent under existing law. Under the
Payne law the ad valorem rates
were 1S1s per cent.
eff we had the Payne rates of
duty in effect today" he said, ''our
imports would yield s51S.000,000 of
revenue instead of S16S,000,000. The
last year of the Payne tariff law
yielded to our treasury 1888, 100000
| in revenue on imports of $1,S12,0OO,-
900. An average rate of sos per
cent for the fiscal year just closed
will yield s16S,00O,000 on imports in
round numbers of $2,S00,OOO 900
value. One hundred and sixty-fve
million less will be collected in 1917
and 1918 on imports under the I'm
derwood tariff law than was collected
under the Payne tariff law, with an
increase of s1,00O,000,000 of imports.
Under the Payne rates the tar
lift collected in America amounted to
1926 per capita, while at that time
in England it was 1885. Now our
tariff duty is but s1.6S per capita,
while Great Britain has raised her
rates to s1025 per capita. If we
were to put the tariff up like Great
Britain we could now get $1,OO0,OOO,-
900 out of our imports.
Great Britain, for instance, had
4 a 80 duty
when the war started, and now has
over 8 cents. We have IL cents full
! duty. and 1 cent duty on sugar from
Cuba, and get s5O,oo0.00o revenue.
| If we had the English rate sugar
would yield us s150,000,000. How
ever, l do not favor tax on sugar
| now. We could raise revenue from
tea and coffey, but they are articles
of food and would be a hardship on
the poor people.
81 am in favor of putting on the
same rates we had under the Payne
law. They would yield US over
$500 ,O0O, 900 and would not be burden
tsome. The rates could be put on
luxuries, tobacco, silks, fireworks and
/ ther articles that would not be hard
to bear"
Take Incomes Over $1,000
Representative Little, republican,
of Kansas, would take all income
over 100000.
ANY man." he esaid, who wants
over 100000 to live on in these
times is not good citizen. He is
hog. do not see how any man who
now has a competence would expect
to make anything out of this war.
Let's conscript wealth; not the cap
ital but the incomes.
Let John D. Rockefeller come
down and give the government all
| he has over 100000. Why annoy
every poor man by adding more to
his burden? Two-thirds of the ne
cessfties and simple luxuries of av-
erage people should be Cancelled and
levied on the excess over 100000
incomes. If they all go into the
treasury of the nation their owners
should be proud to have anything
their country will accept"
The taxes proposed on luxuries
are all right as suggested by the
treasury with few exceptions, in the
opinion of Representative Bell (dem-
ocrat) of Georgia.
Gasoline, however" he added, 'is
not a luxury, altogether. The gov
eminent has to use great quantities
of gasoline and would have to pay
the extra tax if applied as suggested.
The government ought to comman-
deer the entire output of gasoline
and put a reasonable price on the
amount supplied to the consumer. /
would favor an amendment to that
effect"
Soft Drinks Not Needed.
Representative Charles p. Randall,
of California, who started the pres
ent prohibition movement, agrees
with the treasury idea that soft
drinks should be taxed.
The soft drink business, in fact"
he said, ought to quit during the
war because it takes food materials
inst as alcoholic drinks. Soft drinks
are not necessities, certainly during
the war Furthermore, there is
great danger that they will create
7 nnnrphpDd that