Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-14
/. s, FACING ERA
Of HIGH TAXATION
o.;IadeIphia Accountant Un-
able to See Any Reduction
for Many Years
wouLD PUT BURDEN on RICH

,r..,,pgton. Dec. 14.-"Federal
,,."ation Past. Present and. Future
discussed Mt the annual meeting
was vas vi ~ tbe American Society Of Certi-
tou"ip e"I public Accounts by Frank Wilbur
;r tsd; "S nf Philadelphia, president Of the
ma,nms.rIvonia State Board of Exam
re,s i.nrs If public Accountants. In part,
he said ,,,;nt o,s,,r vo;ced
;. .hat taxes are so high that business
is ta;n, snh, strnncled to death. Then fol-
" 9TH, tbo cry that if we had competent
,ross tgMa mnde up Of real business men,
ns .ons' would be Immediately reduced,
!ss !saeh burden on business lghtened and
VIZ III citizens would be happy.
oil '.aToyation in this country at present
1, an effect and not a cause. Our Gov
lament has tremendous obligations.
cd for. extended responsible already
,ssrrsated. sr and it is these obligations and
.asnonsibilties that compel high taxes.
III Is certain that we cannot reduce
,be existing war debt except by paying
!. We cannot reduce the rate OF IN
tsrest "I on the obligations now outstand-
Inc until the same come due. ~ Is
tau tUr ncnsions. disability payments and
.oh .o ,bilitotion projects for our soldiers
+, .he lnte war cannot be reduced and
, .not tbcv will rather increase as time
.. nos an. to say nothing Of the posi-
S;ltr of n bonus. We may, perhaps.
podnca our military and naval expenses
,,nnswhat: we can remove few hum
s.nJ clerks here and there, but the most
tbet ony real budget can do will be to
sn"e sn"o comparatively few millions,
"h;le tbe more or less fixed expendi-
,uros running into the hundreds of
m;llions, can only be modified in very
limited way, and certain of them only
upward. ,r
,rc N demand more and more in the
wev Of public service, is going to ex-
nert more reclamation work, is going
n look for greater assistance in the
wov of education, good roads, etc, and
tbere is no way in which the need for
funds in our Government can, within
the next few years, be materially re-
duced. st..
and high taxation are necessarily harm
ful to business. Debt is not always an
unmixed curse. Individually, we
should, Of course, keep out of debt ms
far as personal and living expenses
are concerned and this is true of husi'
nesses and governmental organizations
The fact that healthy, growing busi-
ness will have increasing busines la =
bilities is taken for granted.
1.-The only economic and sound way
10 raise taxes is to tax income. Those
who have the incomes must of neces..
sity pay. Why shouldn't they? a
man with an income OF 81 900, ,00O
certainly needs the protection Of the
Government far more than the mar
with no income. In other words, tax.
payers must be taxed only in proportion
to their ability to pay.
eve have two clearly defined In.
come tax sources: first, the corporation
and second. the individual. While our
tax legislation is very new, 1t has
worked out in quite logical way the
factors which determine income for both
corporations and individuals and in the
excess profits taxes, which have been
repealed. the factors which determine
invested capital.
'"The expectation that II Is possible
10 devise any tax law that will raise
several billion dollars per year, and yet
he In such simple form and language
that any business man can determine
instantly and accurately his tax liahil-
ty, no matter how inaccurately his
records may be kept. is n foolish
dream.'