Evening star., 1924-04-30
BOOK ON TAXATION
WRITTEN BY MELLON
Declared Peoples Business" by
Treasurer Secretary, in Ex-
ID planning Issue.
AGAINST CONFISCATION
CONFISCATION
AGAINST
Says Levies Should Be Made Only
for U. S. Expenses.

Taxation: the Peoples Business"
IS the title of a book just from the
press, by Andrew w. Mellon, Secre-
lary of the Treasury. The pubIica-
tion of this volume containing the
views of Secretary Mellon, set forth
N a direct style, on the question of
taxation, while the contest over the
revenue bill is under way in the Sen
ate, is particularly timely. In it Sec
retary Mellon explains in terms that
can readily be understood, the prin-
ciples underlying his proposed plan
for the reduction of taxation.
II have never viewed taxation as a
means of rewarding one class of tax
PAYERS or puniShing another" Mr..
Mellon says discussing fundamental
principles of taxation. If such
point OF view ever controls our pub
tic policy, the traditions of freedom,
justice and equality Of opportunity,
which are the distinguishing charac-
teristicS of our American civilization,
will have disappeared and in their
place We shall have class legislation
with all its attendant evils
speed in Publishing.
The publishers Of Nr. MELONS
book. Macmillan Company, got out
the book in five days. They received
tho finished manuscript Monday. April
Il, and the first edition came off the
press on Friday April %.
The titles TO chapters in the book
include Fundamental Principles
Treasury Policies" Revising the
and Initiative, Estate Taxes" Ben
efits of Tax Reduction" and ''TaN-eX-
sTnpt Securities.
TT is incredible" Secretary Mellon
says. in discussing the avoidance of
tax-paying through investment IN un-
taxed securities. that q system which
permits a man with an income Of ST.
600 600 .. year TO pay not one single
cent to the support of his government
should remain u0altered.'
Mr.. Mellon refers again to the fig
ures contained in his letter to Sena-
tor CouZens showing that William
Rockefeller had 100000 invested
m ta2-free bonds, and only S7,00o,000
IN Standard Oil. With $4,000, 100000
of such exempted securities available.
he result Will be that the sort of
"apital once employed in new bUs-
ness ventures will inevitably be alb
sorbed by them.
Taxation For Expenses.
Secretary Mellon says the surtaxes
were a war emergency measure. Tax
3 ton should be used as i means for
meeting the expenses of the govern
ment, he says, and not for the con-
fscation OF great wealth. Taking
Henry Ford as an outstanding exam
ple Of American initiative. lie declares
that if I'ord'S excess profits had been
taken in taxes, instead of having been
put back into the business to obtain
greater production, a Ford car would
now cost $500.
Mr. Mellon quotes Richard Olney,
Daniel Guggenheim and d woman
dresSInaker on their views of the dam
aging effects Of the high surtaxes, and
then gives an example of how the rent
payer is affected.
''If flat building could be built in
1918 on a 100000 investment and the
investor desired s per cent return, his
rents had to be adjusted so as to give
aim net $4,000. If in 1928 similar
building should require 100000, the
investor, to get the same return after
high SurtaxeS, would need net rents of
$4,000. He would probably. however,
wish to provide against this abnormal
cost of building by amortizing the eX-
cess cost and demand net rents of
$4,000"
II was with these matters in mind
that Mr. Mellon reduced the surtaXes
in his own bill to 25 per cent.