The Cordova daily times., 1923-03-12
TAXATION AND THE PROBLEM OF
 PUBLIC WELFARE

itlOnal interest have raised the question: What is Federal taxation? Who pay the taxes? Is lit possible to make them equal to all indi- viduals? How are the benefits of expenditure distributed:
 A tax of any sort is burden, and the problem of right government is to keep them down as low as possible consistent with good and efficient administration. But the most difficult problem of all is to so adjust and dis tribute them to place the heaviest burdens on those best able to bear"them, and to make the expenditure of the funds raised by tax aton nationwide benefit.
 It is very difficult for many to see that all funds raised by the Federal Government If honestly and equitaby administered are expended for the general welfare. This must be assumed if there is any justice at all in general taxation
 Federal receipts may be roughly divided into: internal revenue, including income taxes taxes on tobacco and cigars, public utilities and dozen similar sources; cutoms revenues, that is duties on imports; thirty-five mis- cellaneous sources the largest of which are profits on coinage, interest on public deposits, premiums on war risk insurance, discount on bonds purchased, sale of war supplies, pay
 
 trust funds, Panama Canal tolls, public debt recei pts, postal revenues
 1 In 1920 (fiscal year) the total ordinary re- ceipts from these sources were a little over six billion dollars In 1921 they were five billion dollars The entire receipts including postal receipts and bond transaction amounted to approximately twentv-two billion dollars: but tie five or six billioin dollars is the item in which taxpayers are interested directly.
 Of the five and a half billion dollars needed this coming fiscal year, about five hundred million will come from customs, about billion will cone from miscellaneous sources, and the balance. about four billion. must come from incomes and other internal revenue sources. Eighty per cent must come from incomes and other internal revenue taxes. These are di- rect taxes.
 1 Obviously the income tax will be the largest Who will pay it? Those best able to pay, since the total annual tax is graduated from about $2O on net incomes of $3,000, to $550,64O on net incomes of a million dollars and over i What states pay the largest incomes taxes? New York Penns yvana Illinois, Massachu setts Ohio, Michigan, in the order named. 1 Of the three and quarter billioin income and profits taxes paid in 1921, the six states above paid two billion one hundred and thirty mil jlioin or more than seventy-fve per cent.
 The protective tariff is referred to by its enemies as tax a burden on the people. IL is not a tax upon the American people, but payment by foreigners and importers for the privilege of enjoying the American mar ket Yet this will bring in only about eight per cent of the amount of money required. It 1 is regulated entirely by the amount and value of imports, and is no tax burden at all except on those whc prefer foreign to domestic mer- chandsc. The receipts on tobacco and cigars are taxes on luxuries regulated by the amount consumed This is not burden on a majority of the people-only on the consumers of to- bacco.
 A ship subsidy to maintain and protect an American Merchant Marine will not be bur 1 den on the masses nor on the farmers The men of large incomes will furnish the funds; and the amount needed will be less than the annual waste now incurred in maintaining and operating the fleet of the United States Ship ping Board
 Where will the five or more billion dollars to D, raised, go? It will go to the maintenance of the following branches of the Federal Gov ernment in the order named: War Depart anent, Interior Department, Navy Department, Treasury Department, Postoffice Department, Commerce Department, District of Columbia, State Department, Legislative Department, Judicial Department, Labor Department l ap rf, fhnra