The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1938-04-07
THE MAD TAX-PAssING-PACE SET

by congress in the apparently futile effort to
ma e federal receipts cover expenditures is
graphically illustrated in "pictogram,"
characteristic of The United States News.
Fourteen pillars, representing years in
which new tax laws or revisions were made
dull ing the last rs years, support the roof OF
the United States treasury. Four of these
do double duty, where two tax laws were in
flicted in one year. Nine of the tax laws
have been constructed since 1881 but while
they overlooked no possible tax source and
increased government revenues from less
than two billions to more than six estimated
for this year, they still have failed to offset
the outgo in any one year.
The income tax came into being in 1913
when the levy was one per cent on personal
incomes above $4,000 for the single man and
$4,000 for the benedict. The maximum sur
tax that year was six per cent, hardly miss
ed by individuals whose incomes exceeded a
half million dollars.
In 1916 this source was tapped for two
per cent and the surtax boosted until IL per
cent was extracted from the fortunate indi-
vidual making over two millions per year.
Then the war prompted new search for tax
money Rates were increased and exemptions
lowered considerably but with the advent of
peace, rates approximating those before the
war were set. The government enjoyed ten
year perlOQ curing winch ten DllllOnS OF Cne
public debt was retired.
With the depression this era was ended
and the effort to spend our way out of hard
times began. Exemptions were lowered to
present levels. A. base rate of four per cent
was established while surtaxes now mount to
as much as 55 per cent. Payroll, processing,
nuisance, inheritance, gift capital gains, I'M
distributed profits and an array of other lev
les were inaugurated or multiplied to supply
funds for government ambitious in it's eff
forts to turn the tide with spending.
The constant piling up of the federal de-
ficit is one phase of the tax question which
receives considerable publicity; another is
the oppression of mounting taxes and the
growing bureaucracy charged with collecting
and spending them-and devising new lev
les. A third less publicised phase is the I'M
certainty caused by constantly changing
tax system.
WE IN THE COUNTRY ARE SOME
times prone to regard labor troubles of the
large cities as no problem of ours, affecting
us only in remote cases if at ALL Moth
ing could be farther from the facts.
Take, for example, strike in the auto
mobile industry. The local dealer suffers
when he cannot get cars. He must lay-off
or reduce the pay of his salesman if the strike
Is HOC lmmeulaCely SeCCled. New car drivers
drive more than owners of old ones; the oil
men are affected. Car advertising stops,
threatening the jobs or at least shortening
the hours of employees in the advertising
business. Reduced salaries in any line affect
buying power, hurting the sale of merchan-
disc in stores and produce from farms.
Eventually property owners suffer in re-
duced or unpaid rents. Local government
units suffer from unpaid taxes.
This is only very elementary example
dealing with circumstances closest at home;
but it indicates very clearly that strikes are
far-reaching in their effect.
MODERN PARADOX: AT IN EN-
ployment' service lose jobs" You fellows in
the unemployment service will kindly make
room.
ENGLAND'S SCHEME TO GET ITAL,-
ian troops out of Spain is destined to be high
ly successful soon as they have won the
war.
THE ST. LOUIS sTAR-TIMEs HAS
defined the recession as ''the hole we had left
after we got through filling up the depres-
sion."
NATE BOVEE USED TO SAY OF
every late snow or early summer rain, cts
worth million dollars At that rate we
certainly are in the newly rich class this sea-
son.