The Washington herald., 1920-02-29

points Of view. Among other de-
sirable effects. 1t would reach those
who. by holding tax-exempt securi-
ties, now escape the burden of in
come taxation. and 1t would thus
go long way to eliminate the un-
due advantage now attaching to
tax-exempt securities and to correct
the resulting evils which have
pointed out before in discussing that
phase or our tax problem.
Buyer-SeIIer Method.
The exact form which such a tax
should take is debatable. 1t might
be imposed on the seller according
to the aggregate sales affected, the
tax to be computed quarterly, semi
annually or annually. Or. ii might
on every transaction. be paid by
the purchaser. in which case II
should not be included in the selling
price. but specifically added to it as
a separate item, probably best in
the shape of stamps. Or, II might
be made applicable to retail sales
only.
In the latter case it might be
found well to exempt from the tax
single purchases below 81. Also in
ultimate purchaser, il might possi-
bly, be deemed appropriate to make
the tax varying in it's scale, say
from / per cent to 10 per cent, or
even 20 per cent, progressing ac-
cording to the value of the article
purchased, so that. for instance. a
person making a IS purchase would
pay l per cent tax, !. e., FIVE cents,
while a person making a $1,000 pur-
chase would pay 10 per cent tax, 1.
c.. $500. and so on.
while the progressive scale sug-
gested would be attractive from the
point of view of equity. realize, OF
course, the practical objections to
which it is open and the difficulty
Of its operation. Indeed. ii may be
found upon due investigation that
the complications involved would be
such as to be decisive against the
adoption Of that suggestion.
THE simplest and most remuner-
ative way, naturally. would be to
impose a very small tax on the
turnover. computed quarterly or
semi-annually. of sales of commod-
titles and products all along the
line, from first to last.
AT any rate, whatever may be
the differences of opinion as to the
various ways of applying a sales
tax, / feel confident that as far as
the principle of such a tax is con-
earned. a great majority of the men
engaged in business. large or small,
would welcome 1t.
Lighter Burden on Consumer.
1T may be objected that such a
tax is finally passed on to the con-
sumer. No doubt IL Is. So is the
bulk of the excess profit tax. So,
in the end, isPractically is every bust
ness tax and, to a great extent, even
individual taxes.
"And the burden on the consumer
Is always cumulative, inasmuch as
almost every article before 1t comes
to him passes through several diff
ferent hahdlings in the process of
being converted from the raw ma
terial to. the finished article on sale,
and each one of those concerned in
that process seeks to add to the
price proportionate percentage to
cover his taxes, at least in part.
The sales tax would aggregate
a far smaller burden by the time IL
reaches the consumer than our pre-
vailing array of taxes. 1t would
and file than do the results of our
existing taxation.
'At present, apart from various
minor taxes. corporate business
pays 10 per cent income tax and, in
addition, excess profit taxes up to 20
per cent. Individuals pay up to ~
per cent. In Federal income taxes
alone.
"A trining sales tax on the huge