The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1919-05-21

little burdensome as they can be ma lie
ana yet sufficient to support the gcy
eminent and meet all it's obligatiors.
The figures to which those obligations
nave arisen are very great indeed, b 1T
they are not so great as to make it
difficult for the nation to meet then,
and meet them perhaps in single
generation by taxes which will neither
crush nor discourage. These are not
so great as they seem, not SO great rs
the immense sums we have had to
borrow, added to the immense sums
we have had to raise by taxation.
would seem to Indicate; for a very
large proportion of those sums were
raised in order that they might be
loaned to the government with which
we were associated in the war, and
those loans will, of course, constitute
assets, not liabilities, and will not have
to be taken care of by our taxpayers.
Matter of Taxation.
The main thing we shall have to
care for is that our taxation shall
rest rs lightly as possible on the pro-
ductive resources Of the country, that
its rates shall be stable, and that it
shall be constant in its revenue yield
ing power. We have found the main
sources from which it must be drawn.
take it far granted that it's main
stays will henceforth be the income
fn~ Il a.
estate tax. All these can so be ad-
justed to yield costant and adequate
returns and yet not constitute too
grlevous burden on the taxpayer. A
! revision of the income tax has already
| been provided for by the act of 1918,
but think you will find that further
changes can be made to advantage
both in the rates Of the tax and in
the method of it's collection. The eX-
cess profits tax need not long be
maintained at the rates which were
necessary while the enormous en-
penses Of the war had to be borne;
but it should be made the basis of a
permanent system which will reach
undue profits without discouraging
the enterprise and activity of ou.
business men. The tax on inherit
ances ought, no doubt, to be recon-
sidered in it's relation to the fiscal
system of the several States, but it
certainly ought to remain a perman-
ent part of the fiscal system of the
federal government also.
Hardly Justiiiable.
Many of the minor taxes provided
for in the revenue legislation of 1917
and 1918, though no doubt made ne
cessary by the pressing necessities
of the wartime, can hardly find suf-
ticient justification under the easier
circumstances of peace, and can now
happily be got rid of. Among these
/ hope you will agree, are the exer-
cises upon various manufacturers and
the taxes upon retail sales. They are
unequal in the incidence on different
industries and on different individ-
uals. Their collection is difficult and
expensive. Those which are levied
upon articles sold at retail are large
~ eVaded by the readjustment of re-
tail prices. On the other hand, |
should assume that it is expedient to
maintain considerable range of in
direct taxes; and the fact that al
coholic liquors will presently no
longer afford source of revenue by
taxation makes it the more necessary
that the field should be carefully re-
studied in order that equivalent
sources of revenue may be found
which it will be legitimate, and not
burdensome, to draw upon. But you
have at hand in the Treasury Depart |
ment many experts who can advise
you upon the matters much better
than / can. / can only suggest the |
lines Of a permanent and workable !
system, and the placing of the taxes !
where they will least hamper the life
of the people.
Import Duties.
"Therc is, unfortunately, no occa-
sion for undertaking in the immedi- |
ate future any general revision of our
system of import duties. No serious
danger Of foreign competition now
threatens American industries. Our
country has emerged from the war
less disturbed and less weakened than
any Of the European countries which
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