Evening star., 1937-06-02
Tax Dodgers.

President Roosevelt and Secretary
Morgenthau of the Treasury Depart
ment have revealed to the country an
amazing story of tax avoidance The
agility of the tax dodgers and the
lengths to which they have gone are
worthy of better aims and ends The
creation of personal holding companies,
of corporations, either domestic or for
eign, are some of the methods adopted
apparently on the advice of legal counsel.
The story is one that doubtless will
rouse the indignation of American tax
payers-those who meet their tax obliga-
tlons without avoidance-the country
over. AS the President very we'll points
out in his message to Congress, the
failure of this minority of very rich
individuals to meet their tax obliga-
tions makes the burden fall more heavily
upon those taxpayers who do meet their
obligations.
The writing of an income tax law
which does only justice to all concerned
is difficult task. If the law is written
so as to give relief to persons who
really deserve relief when they have
sustained losses, there is the group which
Immediately takes advantage of tech
nicalities to avoid the payment of lust
taxes. 1t is easy to argue that If a
taxpayer keeps within the law" he is
entitled to avoid as much taxation as
he can. Yet some of the devices turned
up by the Treasury Department investi-
gators appear, as the President says,
"unethical" and immoral" The law
yers, with whose aid these devices have
been developed, could use their talents
to better advantage in some other field
OF endeavor. The President charges
that lawyers of high standing at the
bar have not only helped the tax
dodgers with these flimsy devices, but
also have made use of these devices
themselves. If the President be correct
it is sad commentary upon the legal
profession as we'll as upon human
nature.
The array of cases mentioned by Sec.
retary Morgenthau, involving large
sums of money which should have been
paid to the Government in taxes, is
impressive. At the same time an effort
to make the avoidance of taxes an
other major crisis in this country
as the administration seems bent on
doing-is something else. If all these
taxes have been paid into the Treasury
the revenue might have been $10O, 900 900
greater, 1t is said. A hundred million
dollars would not wipe out the deficit
not by many hundred millions Of dol
lars A hundred million dollars Of
wasteful expenditures by the Govern
ment, or unnecessary expenditure, is
just as hard on the great mass Of the
taxpaying American people as is the
loss of 100000, 900 OF revenue through
tax evasion.
The President in his message said:
What the facts set forth mean to me
Is that we have reached another major
difficulty in the maintenance OF the
normal processes of our Government.
We are trying harder than ever before
to relieve suffering and want, to pro-
tect the weak, to curb avarice, to pre-
vent booms and depressions-and to
balance the budget. Taxation necessary
to those ends is the foundation of sound
governmental finance. When our legiti-
mate revenues are attacked, the whole
structure of government is attacked"
Tax evasion is not to be condoned; it
should be stamped out but it is by no
means all that ails the finances of this
Government