Evening star., 1933-12-18

The impending session of Congress
| will bring with it tax battle which
the Scranton Times calls far greater
than the battle over the price at which
the dollar shall be revalued." Observers,
! in general, indorSe the purpose of the
| Ways and Means Committee in at
| tempting to plug existing loopholes in
! the upper brackets of the income tax
law, but differ as to methods OF ac-
complishing this end.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram con-
tends that there has never been a
democratic system of taxation in Amer
lea. The farther the American citizen
ship has carried the system of taxation
prostitution the farther We have de-
parted from the principle continues
that paper, until today we seeing
the spectacle of huge incomes protest
ing vigorously at the prospect OF giving
up their loopholeS and Small-property
owners clinging tenaciouSly to their ex-
emptions on both homesteads' and be-
loW-certain-f1gure incomes. The Jlt-
tiers are because of the fear that justice
in taxation will succeed the get by
methods which are positive disgraces in
the cases of the struggling small owner,
comparative ones in the central brack-
cts of income taxpayers and superla-
tive ones in those fragrant instances
which permit financier to lose a
million dollars in a pre-arranged stock
transaction and charge off the loss
in his income tax blanks"
The Baltimore Sun, speaking of the
loopholes in the income tax which in
vite conspicuously f1agrant evasions"
declares: In common justice, such op-
portunities for evasion ought to be cut
off, provided it be possible to do so
without injustice to the mass of tax
payers" Attention is called by the Wall
Street Journal to the fact that "other
taxpayers must be called upon to pay
what has been lost to the Government
through the 'avoiders,'" while the Port
Huron Times-Herald brings up "the
moot question of the relative efficiency
of high and low rates of taxation
While granting that sit may seem
fair enough that, if gains in capital as
sets are to be taxed as income, losses
should be deducted" the Goshen Daily
News-Times says that nevertheless,
this system has made it possible for
the wealthy to escape taxation" and
even granting that the sale of assets
was made in good faith and that the
loss was actually sustained, still the
man With the greater income Is better
able to pay taxes, despite his loss, than
the man with no assets and q smaller
income"
The workers with earned incomes.
who have no exemptions outside of
their allowances as heads of families
or because of exemptions applying to
small children" remarks the Oshkosh
Daily Northwestern, ARE demanding
tax revision that will end the oppor-
tunity for the wealthy to avoid their
just share of taxes and are asking that
the tax-free-investment loophole be
plugged"
It seems evident to the Charlotte
Observer that not all of the increases
favored by Congress will be confined
to those brackets with the highest in
comes" and the Rockford Register RE-
public is convinced that "they are seek
ing to close up the loopholes with in
creased income taxes which hit the
man with the small income even
harder, comparatively, than the rich,
though the latter will be jolted ter
rifically If the proposals become ef-
fective." The Rockford paper adds:
During the last session of Congress.
the disposition was to soak the rich.