The Daily Alaska empire., 1939-02-01
Abolish Special Privilege in Taxation
lPhiladelphsa Record)

CPhiadeph.a Record)
 Conservatives and liberals alike rally behind Pres- dent Roosevelts message calling upon Congress to end the exemption future issues of Government bonds-Federal State and local-and on all govern ment salaries.
 The American notion of fair play and equality before the law makes tax exemption distasteful to practically all save it's direct beneficiaries.
 The Government of the United States Serves all citizens
 Why should some pay for the service while others need not?
 Tax exemption means only one thing: that those who do pay pay than their rightful share so to make up for the privileged characters who don't pay anything
 As President Roosevelt recalls preferred class of nonaxpayers created by reaotionary Supreme Court contemptuous of the Constitution itself to serve its and special interests
 The income tax amendment reads
 The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes from whatever source derived As President Roosevelt remarked in his message yesterday:
 Tt is difficult for almost all citizens to understand why a Constitutional provision permitting taxes income from whatever source derived does not mean from whatever source derived
 But the Justices of the Supreme Court in 1920, handed down the amazing decision that their own salaries could not be taxed because that would violate the rule that the compensation of Judges shall not be diminished during their continuance in office
 Justices Holmes and Brandeis vigorously dissented, pointing that the independence of Judges is a very good for preventing attempts to deal with a Judges salary such, but for eXonerating him from the ordinary duties of citizen which he shares with all others 1 Nevertheless, the Supreme Court Justices have not paid taxes to this day. Neither have State and municipal office holders. and holders of tax-exempt bonds, all of whom the Supreme Court removed from the tax list by ruling that Congress could not levy upon employees and securities of the sovereign States
 So did the Court nullify the plain meaning of the plain words of the Constitution: ' incomes from whatever source derived
 President Roosevelt notes that recent decisions warrant the assumption that the present Supreme Court regards these words to what they say. and that legislation taxing all Americans basis of equality would be upheld in the future.
 No longer super-board of corporation lawyers and legalists the Supreme Court today is of a caliber which justifes the Presidents faith
 How much capitalized taxation would bring we do not know.
 I It has been estimated that there now $55 O00- 100000 of tax-exempt bonds outstanding. Under the Presidents proposal however they would not be taxed since the taxes would not be retroactive and would apply only to new securities From the office holders, however, there would be substantial return and the | additional Federal income would eventually total l $300000000, according to estimates.
 More important than the revenue however is the principle ~ g
 The U. s A. should have no room for tax-exempt class of citizens
 Even such conservative publication as the Wall Street Journal is out support of this New Deal pro- posal observing:
 ! "AS President Roosevelt has said haven of refuge from taxation open great body of private capital has no place in the fiscal system with an elaborately graduated in come tax
 Many other conservatives such as Senator Byrd share the views.
 Scarcely less important is the opportunity which will be afforded the Supreme Court to revive confi- dence that Justices henceforth will honor the plain meaning of plain words written by the people into their Constitution