Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-07-17
AN 0UTGO lax.

AN UUldU tRA.
Armour & Company. engaged in
the very necessary business of man
ufacturing meat, has been compelled
to pay per cent interest for
SOC, 100000 plus a discount of 10 per
cent in advance and the per cent
will run for ten years unless Armour
Il Co. prefers to pay another per
cent bonus for the privilege of taking
up its paper. Money which hereto
fore has always been available for
the meat packing business at 4 and
s per cent now will cost nearly 0 per
cent upon an average for at least
& Co. can hope for is an average of
3 per cent for the mex. ten years
The public will have to pay it in the
price of meat.
Such Is the direct result of taxing
large incomes and business profits so
excessively that surplus profits and
surplus incomes are taken by the
government instead of being re-in-
vested In productive business. Men
like Armour re-invest about all they
make using only small fraction of
their incomes for living expenses.
They keep much Of their business
profits in their business and REIN
vest their personal incomes In cx-
pansion of their business or in new
enterprises which need capital to
finance more production. That Is.
they did until the war taxes took
away 46 per cent of all business pro-
fits above 20 per cent upon invested
capital and took away as much as Is
per cent Of rich mans income
above. a certain turning point and
made it prohibitivc for him to re-
invest in productive enterprise,
Men who spend all they make
never accumulate capital for the next
generation to use In producing
things. Without the capital saved
from the past men today would hav,
to live as the cave men lived without
buildings or clothes for shelter and
without food prepared or stored for
winter. Taxes which eat up the cap
ital of country and prevent men
who make more than they can eat
from reinvesting will soon break that
country's business.
an outgo tax rather than an income
tax. Those who spend above the
pay the tax in order that tho govern
ment may have for it's expenses a
share OF what its citizens are willing
to spend anyway. Those who are
willing to store up capital for future
industry and production should not
be barred from REIMBURSEMENT.
England gets at it by high nor
NAL tax upon all taxable incomes and
a much loiwer surtax upon large in
comes than ours while economists in
this country are urging a general
sales tax and normal tax upon IN
comes in place of excess profits
taxes or excessive surfaces upon
large incomes.
Commercial clubs turnout the land
are trying to induce men to invest
capital in their towns for the up
building of their industries but so
long as excess profits taxes and sur
taxes exist menpsuccessful enough to
earn more than they need for thoir
living expenses are barred from re-
investing in any industry whose earn
ings are taxable. They are forced to
seek tax-free securities and every in
dustry in this country including the
railroads is being starved OF it's need
ed capital either borrowed or in
vested. In few months men are
likely to be out Of work as the re-
suit OF unsound taxing Of stored up
capital when the spender is the one
who should be taxed for all that he