Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-03-20
gress will have to provide for be

cause the last one passed the
buck" to them. A soldiers bonus
bill is one Of these. The late con-
gress promised to put through such
additional appropriation latter cleo
tion," but it did not do so It
passed this thorny question up to
the new congress.
It is now more than two years
since the war finished and yet the
nation is still paying the heaviest
war taxes ever levied by nation
on its citizens during war times.
We are paying heavier taxes than
anv European nation at this time.
They range as high as 70 per cent
of total income in single tax, ana
then other taxes on the 80 per cent
that is left. When these taxes
were levied in the stress OF war the
chairman of the committee which
brought an the war tax bill in the
lower house admitted on the floor
&c the house that these taxes were
neither equitable or scientific ou.
| he said the nation was confronted
with a special war crisis ana mao
70 Get the money by the shortest
and quickest route possible, ana so
he personally was going to shut ms
ewes and vote for the bill. HIS
colleagues evidently gelt the same
wav about it. The closing days OF
the session were at hand. The war
revenue bill passed through house
and senate with little discussion
and it is in operation yet IN spite
of the fact that for two years Pres
;dent Wilson kept calling the at
+rnt;on of the "do nothing con-
oress'' to its evil effect on business
and national prosperity and asking
congress to revise this war tax
law. The new congress will have
n take this matter up and revise
the present tax law. 1t may not re-
duce the sum total Of our tax bur
dens. Indeed, we have tear that
thew will be increased instead OF
reduced. but the method OF raising
The needed money must be Changed
This is so not only because the
nresent tax laws are both inequit'
able and unscientific, but because
thew are played out and Will nc
longer produce the needed revenue
No one will ever know just what
these~war tax laws, prolonged aur'
ing two years Of peace by the
cowardice Of do nothing con
o,ess" that refused to heed the ad
vice of President Wilson to change
them have cost the country. Vas'
sums of money have been collected
under these laws, but the damage
they did to the country woulo II
our opinion be represented by f's
ures still bigger than their tota
tax product. Just to illuminate
this subject by a single local elius
+ration we will say that but TOT
these laws Great Falls would have
: had a five story block built ant
work for many workmen now ioie
The effect of these tax laws wa
, to throttle constructive and pro
, ductive business, and force capita
, into investment in non-taxaoie Sc
cur;+;es These represent dea'
things. debts for Improvements an
expenditures of the past. They ar
represented by state bonds. gov
eminent bonds of certain issues
:, farm loan bonds, etc. Capital ma
: been Withdrawn from productiv
f investment in buildings, farms, tao
f tories. industries of all kinds to III
o vest in non-taxable securities DC
!. cause our tax laws are SO frame
It that capital can get several time
s as much net income from investln
n in these dead securities as 1t can b
It investing in ne wealth produc1n
d enterprises. We are protoundl
x impressed with the fact that n
a small part Of the present industria
o depression is due to our absurd wa
x tax laws which the last congress
0 refused to revise or change.
r And SO the new congress IN spec
l. ial session next month will be cor
f fronted with the absolute necessit
j. of revising the present methods
$, raising revenue. The income ia
h and the excess profits tax whic
n were the two main sources of ia
e revenue during the war are dryin
J. up. They will produce less an
d less money every year if they al
n not radically revised and the bi
$ percentages on large incomes r.
y duced by thirds or more. Som
d other way of getting the none
lie must be devised. That is up
r congress, and they will do wisel
r, if they tackle this problem of &c
~ %:oo The ,,,or,a,y first AZ uA RI