The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-12-15
THE CHECK TAX AND OTHER MONEY
MATTERS

The federal tax of two cents on DahK
checks will be off after December 5lSt'
The tax was imposed by Congress IN 1887
and has been one of the nuisance taxes
business men have been burdened with N
the past few years. Of course, nobody has
been bankrupted by paying the tax on
checks, but at the rate of two cents Tor
each check drawn it has amounted to con-
siderable sums where individuals or busl-
ness houses make hundreds or thousands
of checks each month.
The banks have had to collect the check
tax and pay it over to the government; and
the details of handling the proposition and
the bookkeeping, both for the banks and
for business men, has probably cost more
than the cash collected amounted to. AT
anv rate, business men and bankers will
not shed any tears over the disappearance
of the tax on checks. 1t has been one OF
the items which have added to the expense
of having a bank account; and all of these
costs together mount up to point which
has greatly retarded the use of the coun-
try's banking facilities.
1t would be interesting to know the eX-
tent to which the number of bank accounts
) in the country has decreased in the past
two years. Much of the decrease may be
+, accounted for by the failure of banks and
I other banking troubles, but in some meas
; ure it is due to service charges which many
, people regard as excessive.
No doubt it is true that prior to the
country's banking difficulties, when bust
ness was booming and banks were compel
! ing for business, many thousands of prac-
tically worthless accounts were listed with
the banks They were classed as accounts
which were either not profitable to the
banks or were decidedly improbable. 1t
was good business policy for the banks to
drop many of these accounts; and it is a
reasonable business policy to charge for
services, where services to customers are
rendered beyond what is profitable in the
handling of accounts but in banking, as
ingmany other lines of business and other
things, the tendency seems to be to swing
the pendulum too far in the opposite di-
reetiOn from that in which it was swinging
few years ago.
The rules which the banks have adopt
ed and are now operating under, perhaps
ma large measure under government con-
troll and pressure, are certainly not calcU-
lated to develop the banking business. If
the banks make it too costly to have a
bank account and use banking facilities
the banking business will be retarded OF
reduced. If they adopt large number OF
rules and regulations which restrict and
hamper the business of banking and cause
the public to become disgruntled and dis
satisfied, the whole tendency of the move
ment will be against the development and
growth of banking.
In banking, as in every other line Of
business, rules and regulations and policies
must meet conditions of progress ant
growth or success will be retarded o.
made impossible.
1.-The government will relieve the bank
of the trouble and expense of collectin;
the check tax No doubt it would be help
full to the banks and would help to pro
mote the return of normal business condi
tions, if the government would relieve tn
banks of some of the conditions whicl