Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-18
INEQUITIES OF
THE INCOME TAX
Old Soldiers Pensions Clipped.
Street et-Cleaning Fines.
Farm Conscription

To the Editor Of the Evenin0 Public Ledger:
Sir-I have been giving all my spare time
for several weeks to study of the Income
tax law, with a view to learning from It
whether I have n taxable income Of more
or less than $4,000 per year. ] do not yet
know and may not find out. l see adver-
tised a book of 456 pages claiming to in
terpret the law. and 1 have seen a dozen
smaller books. while several papers have
| employed income-tax experts to answer ques-
| tions about the income tax
1t should bring tinge of shame to every
| American citizen who reads this act to have
| to realize, first that the making power
| of this great nation should be I'm the hands
| of "A set of men so incapable Of drawing up
an act that SO few can understand 1t, and,
secondly, that this great nation should ever
| have had set of rulers capable OF enacttng
| revenue law taxing everybody but them
| selves and their official friends.
| think this is as dsgraceful a thing as
! this country has ever seen 1t is claimed
| that the section of the law exempting from
| its operation all United States, State and
| municipal officers was slipped in as snake
| in the rush of passing the bill. But the Con-
| gress has been in session again for months
| and no move has been made 10 eliminate
| this snake"
| Just imagine our President and all our
| Government officers preaching that we must
| all economize, must all bear our share and
| "do our bit" and then imagine our law
| makers getting after with a tax that
| hits nearly all of us but our Senators and
| Congressmen, with their $500 per year :
| our Judges, with their 10000 to $4,000
| per year. and all our other national, State
| and municipal officers down to our BUR-
| gesses and school teachers not needing to
| return a cent of their salaries for taxation
| MY friend Juniu is an old soldier, who,
| because of his long service and his suffer-
| ings at Andersonvie, IL drawing s30O-a-
| wear pension, and when he received IL II
| was specially explained that his pension was
| not subject to any taxation to any levy
| for debt. BY dint OF long saving and OF
! being still able to MI a humble position he
| is in the enjoyment of an income of $4,000
| per wear. Just enough TO escape the income
| tax IL It were not for the pension. This
| added, makes his income $500 per year and
he has to I'll oUt long blank and make
! oath TO II and pay tax on his 5000 pension
| Near Junkin lives a neighbor by the name
| of Jones Jones, though much younger than
| Junkin has already acquired enough money
| and property TO assure him an income of
| $4,000 per year, just enough to reach the
/ taxable limit, but not enough to make him
| have 10 pay any income tax But Jones is
a politician and holds State office, which
| paws him $4,000 per year giving him total
! income of $4,000, not one cent Of which is
| taxed
| taxed by our benehcent Government young
| Mr.. Jones does not have to yield up a cent
| of his $4,000 State salary. A fair deal, isn't
| 1t?
Can you tell me, Mr. Editor what kind
| OF a halo a national o. State or municipal
| office casts about the holder that II should
| make him immune from taxation? II buy
a railroad ticket. l must, in addition to the
| price OF the ticket, pay or 10 per cent
| Government tax. But a State officer has
| only to say that he is an employe of the
| State and he pays only the straight price
| of his ticket.
our Declaration Of Independence says that
all men are created equal and are endowed
| with rights of life, liberty and the pursuit
| OF happiness. But II does not say that they
| will remain equal after having been created
that way. Nor do know Of any law that
| saws that each citizen shall pay his Just
| proportion of the taxes, regardless OF
| whether he may hold national, State or
| municipal office or may be only common
| citizen But there ought to be such a law.
FAIR DEAL
philadelphia. February TO-