Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-12-09
object must be kept constantly be-
fore us.
SALES AND oTHER TAXES.

nlETrS1a4HH -D SHssErH hEs.tIH -FN-t y
At the meeting Of the Farm Bureau
Federation in washington yesterday a
Recommendation wax made by II. G.
Mckenzie Of Walton. N. Z, chairman,
Of the federation's committee on tax
alton, that the farmers, OF the country
oppose the repeal Of the excess profits
q and the substitution therefor OF
. sales tax.
Mr.. Mckenzie maintained that be-
hind the proposal vas the effort Of
big Business" to shift the burden of
taxation directly upon the consumer,
and he declared that under its opera
ton corporations earning 100 per cent
and over would escape the payment of
= nominal a entirely out of proper
ton to their just share of taxation.
He considered 1t significant that the
change is advocated by the corpora
lions and not by the public.
1t is true that such q change is adj
vocated by many persons who are
members Of corporations, great and
small. If Mr.. Mckenzie follows the
classification quite otten made, he
would consider corporation member
ship sufficient to bar an individual
from what is known as 1.-The public"
and might consider such persons Jun
fit to participate in the benefits st
any law intended to promote the pub
lie interest. 1t seems often to be a
case Of me and my wife, my son John
and his wife; us four and no more.
Amen" @
! 1t happens that a very considerable
share of the country's work is carried
on through the fundamentally of
these same desp:sed corporations. But
aside from the relative merits OF the
corporation and the unincorporated
individual, it is a fact that in one
form or other every tax that we have
is passed on to the consumer. Wheth-
err we tax sales or undistributed in.
comes. the.tax becomes part of the
business cost, and the consumer pays
it. The day laborer pays it in the
price of hts flour and potatoes, and
the millionaire pays it in the price OF
his limousine and the fittings Of his
yacht. The more he Consumed, the
more he uses in supplying his needs
or gratifying his tastes. the greater
il the tax that he pays.
All taxes are paid by the consumer.
The ideal tax is that whose imposi-
ton tends at least to destroy the
sourse of its origin, and which is
collected in such a n hat the
largest possible percentage of what
the pays because of the tax
passes into the treasury ofNthe taxing
body.
The corporation tax, the business
tax. the excess profits tax and others
Of like character are open to the OBJ
lection that they place obstacles in
the way Of business that is taxed, and
tend directly. by restricting the vol
ume OF business, to diminish the tax
returns. They are open to the further
objection that, while they are passed
on to the consumer, the process is
slow, indirect and complicated, and
by the time the is reached
there have been additions which he
can neither analyze nor estimate. and
while he may know that he 10 paying
a tax, he does. not know how much
he pays, nor what proportion Of his
payment goes into the public fund.
There may be valid objections to the
sales tax, but it is at least IN plain
sight, and the most Of the consumers
payment goes into the public treasury