The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1922-02-16
THE BONUS
PROBLEM

ne bONOS
PROBLEM
Republicans of both Houses of
Congress have formally voted in
their party conferences to enact a
pldiers' bonus bill, but recent de-
elopments indicate that many diff
tnIties will be encountered before
the measure finally becomes law.
The ways and means committee of
the House is working out a plan
for raising the necessary revenue,
and when the bill is reported to that
body it will contain within itself the
machinery for raising the funds to
meet its obligations. But it will
not be easy to get the approval of
the house on the details of the rev.
enue provisions, no matters what
form of taxation the committee may
propose.
When the new internal revenue
law, approved last November, was
under consideration the principal OBJ
ject was to reduce taxes. There
was a great conflict of views, but
all minds were united on the gen.
eral proposition of lifting some of
the tax burden from the people and
it was not long before there were
sufficient votes to pass the bill that
is now on the statute books. The
present situation is radically differ
ent. The problem is not to reduce
taxes, but to increase them. The
revenue law of 1921 cut about
$500, 100000 per year from the
total receipts from internal taxa
ton. The proposed bonus tax law
of 1922 will put back more than
half that amount of taxes if the
obligations of the bonus law are to
be met.
It is, apparently, impracticable
to depend upon receipts from for
eign countries on account of inter-
est or principal of the debt they
owe us. No interest has been paid
for almost three years, and no re-
duction Of the principal has taken
place in that time. The obligations
that the treasury now holds are
not in shape to be sold to raise
money for bonus payments. The
foreign debt refunding bill will
probably become law in the near
future, and commission will be
appointed to arrange rates of in
terest, dates for interest payments,
and regular reductions of the prin-
cipal. But what those arrange
ments may be, when they will be
reached, and the amounts the treas
ury will receive hereunder are
problematical and will not be known
for many months. No reliance what
ever can be placed on revenues
from that source. President Hard
ing has indicated that he does not
look with favor upon a measure of
that sort.
It proved a pleasant duty for
Congress. last fall to notify manu-
facturers and individuals generally
that their tax assessments for this
year would be substantially light
ened, but it is going to prove quite
another matter to serve notice upon
them that new levies are about to
be made. Luxury taxes, stamp
taxes on checks, gasoline taxes,
manufacturers sales taxes, tobacco
taxes, and other means for increas-
ing the treasury revenues more than
$40O, 100000 year are being con-
sidered. Each proposal has its ad-
herents, but each also has its OPP
ponents. Every Republican in Con-
gress is anxious to find way to
give soldiers a cash bonus of several
hundred dollars each. The desire
of Congress to deal generously with
the soldiers is demonstrated by the
fact that over two billion dollars
have already been appropriated for
soldier relief, including $3.50, 000,-
900 for a previous bonus, and that
expenditures under policies already
adopted will reach about $3.50, 000,.
900 year. But every Congressman
is also very loath to add to the eco
nomic problems of his constituents
after he has made them all glad
through the tax relief that the Re.
publican Congress has already
granted. Hence the bonus problem
is an extremely difficult one tc
solve.