The New York herald., 1921-07-05
TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1921.
Honest Taxes and Cheap Taxes.

If the new revenue measure does
not broaden the application OF stamp
taxes in this country to meet the
expenses of national government it
will not be because Congress does
not know this is the thing to do; it
will be because Congress is not fair
and square with the taxpayers OF the
Enited States.
Stamp taxes are honest taxes be-
cause everybody sees just when and
how he is paying them.
Stamp taxes are cheap taxes for
the public because they cannot be
secretly multiplied over and over
again on an article as it passes from
hand to hand without the ultimate
consumer of that article discovering
what real tax he ought to be paying
to the Government while actually
paying great deal more to numer-
ours petty larceny handlers Of that
article.
They are cheap taxes for the Gov
ernment to collect because they COL
lect themselves. They require no
complicated bookkeeping, no hordes
OF bureau clerks on the national pay.
roll, no vast and costly administra-
tive machinery eating up for it's own
support a big share of the revenues
that are sweated out of the country's
taxpayers.
IL Congress does not put stamp
tax on bank checks it viii not be
because Congress wants to save the
public trouble and annoyance. 1t
will be because Congress does not
want the public to know every time
1t writes a check that it is paying
tax then and there.
II Congress does not put an extra
stamp on letters and postcards as a
tax it will not be because Congress
fears this will decrease the business
Of the Post Office and perhaps thereby
fail to get the expected revenues. 1t
will be because Congress knows that
everybody that sends piece Of first
class mail will take closer personal
interest In how Congress is appro-
rriating the public's money for Gov
eminent spenders to spend.
The new letter stamp tax might
not pour into the national Treasury
s100.000.000 year more postal re-
ceipts than are collected now. but
whether the added revenues were a
hundred million dollars or ten mill.
ion dollars they would help out a
needful Treasury and they would
help it out in the right way-with
cheap taxes and honest taxes.
The same thing is true OF every
contract, every receipt, every docu
ment that can take a stamp tax. II
will be cheap tax. it will be an
honest tax and il will be a tax that
is needed.
No matter how much money the
Harding Administration may be able
10 save out of the colossal squandeI
which has gone on till now. the
United States Treasury still Will bs
in danger OF running short OF funds
still under compulsion to stuff up the
banks with its l o Us because OF the
loss OF hundreds of millions OF in
come and excess profits taxes. Those
hundreds OF millions will be gone II
Congress wipes out or modifles The
existing taxes, they will be gone 1
Congress does not. because the very
sources of those revenues already are
drying up.
II Congress does not take up in the
place OF those taxes, for as much as
they will produce, the stamp taxes
which are honest taxes and cbear
taxes, Congress simply will be tryins
to fool the American public in the ole
way about how the cost OF govern
ment comes home and must com,
home to every man that earns dol
Lar amanda dol1ar