Evening star., 1939-10-16
Present Tax Level
Higher Than Peak
Of World War
Conference Board Sees
Difficulties in Case
Of Emergency
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, Oct. 16.-With tax
collections already at the highest
level in the Nations history, the
Federal Government would find it
far more difficult to finance new
war emergency than it did quarter
of a century ago, according to a
comparative study of the fiscal po-
sition of the United States today
with that of the World War period,
just made by the Division of Indus
trial Economics of the Conference
Board.
1t is pointed out that practically
all the tax expedients resorted to
during the World War period have
already been revived in recent years.
that new forms of taxation have
been devised to finance one Or an
other of the programs to achieve
economic recovery or social secur-
ity and that important new sources
of revenue would be hard, if not
impossible, to find"
1914 Reserve Cited.
THE most striking feature of the
fiscal position of the Federal Gov
ernment in 1914" according to the
boards analysis, was the Nations
large unused reserve of taX-paying
power For 1918 the ratio of all tax
collections to national income was
7 per cent. Federal tax collections,
of which one-half came from GUS
toms duties, were very light, amount
ing to only little more than 2
per cent of national income.
I'm 1889 we are by contrast a
heavily taxed Nation. The ratio Of
Federal, State and local tax col
lections to national income is esti-
mated at 224 per cent for 1888
For Federal taxes alone the ratio
was 95 per cent
Further comparison shows that
the Federal interest-bearing debt
in 1918 amounted to 1866 600, ,0OC
while on June 80, 1899 it was $780,
886, 100000. The single item of in
terest payments on the national
debt since 1884 has exceeded total
Federal expenditures prior to the
fiscal year 1915.
AS result, the "costs imposed by
the war of 1914-1918 and the obl-
cations assumed by Government
during the last seven years, together
with changing concept of the role
of Government, have meant the
elimination of much of the reserve
of taX-paying power we enjoyed in
1914"
New Peak Set in 1888.
Even under wartime conditions,
says the report, "the Federal taz
system never attained as high a
level of productivity as in the fisca.
year 1888, when collections reached q
peak of $5,936, 900 900. Average Fed.
eral tax collections for the three
years 1887, 1888 and 1899 were S..
460,000,000. In 1919, 1920 and 1921
when wartime taxation was at it,
peak, the average yield was only
s5,O44, ,OOo,o ,oOo."
The comparison is found to bt
even more striking when State ane
local taxes are also taken into &C.
count
estate and local taxes amounted
to $2,965, 600, 900 for 1919 and $685..
100000 for 1921. BY contrast, Stat.
and local taxes for 1887 amounted
to $7,444 100000, and for 1898 they
are estimated at $1,000, 100000. To.
| tai taxes-Federal, State and local
were s12,473,O0o00 for 1887 ane
are estimated at 000,000,0O0 fol
1898. For 1919 and 1921, total taxes
were S7,465 100000 and S8,838, 900 0O(
respectively.
The obvious conclusion to be
drawn from these data is that ir
the event of a serious emergency
requiring additional tax levies, they
would have to be superimposed or
a tax system that represents heav-
ier burden than was imposed at any
time in the World War;"