The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-09-08

VIC u knOWleQBS of what the water was like, and how muddy and rocky 1t was on the bot tom.
 Canada discovered the crags and cross currents of manpower, mate:- ial shortages, need for increased rev. enue, price freezing, job freezing, curbs on credit buying and a lot of things like those long before the United States did.
 Take taxation. Canada has wage tax that begins at per cent of the wages for single people making $66O year or $2100 for married people with dependents. This wage tax is levied on the whole income, and not just on excess over the minimums.
 There are, in addition, minimum savings requirements, running from $20 for single people making $700 a year and $25 for married people making $l250 on up to $500 for all single people making $10,0oo or more year.
 These two taxes are in the nature of credits against income taxes, and here the fun really begins for Can ada has in effect put a confiscatory tax on al! income over $27 ,000 year for single people, or $38,000 for mar ried people with dependents. People making $2o00 a year pay $500 in- come taxes if single, $2l5 if married and having two children. All these taxes are deducted from income, right at the source each pay day.
 As If that weren't enough, there is an per cent manufacturers sales tax and 25 per cent tax on top of that for luXuries such as flirs and jewelry.
 WORLDS HIGHEST TAXES
 So heavy are these levies that in January, 1s42, the Domonion had to suspend the collection of income taxes by the provinces and munich palities. This had to be done for the salvation of the taXpayers-for at one time before the suspension order was put into effect, Montreal people who made $200, 900 a year &C., tually were called on for more than $200,000 a year in taxes. In return for surrendering these local income taxes, the Dominion was forced to pay the local government subsidy, or else assume their debts.
 Canada's taxes today are suppos- edly the highest in the world and, in the opinion of the Hon. J. L. Ils- ley, minister of finance, the eX- treme limit of what the country can do."
 It is taxation of that kind which the United States may have to face if 1t is to- get into this war all-out.
 Take price control. There are far fewer Canadian exemptions to price legislation than in America. But there is a provision by which wage earners are paid a bonus if the cost of living goes above a certain fixed base. It is paid as a percentage of $25 weekly, which was set up as minimum family budget base. If the cost of living goes up 10 per cent, all workers get $2.50 week increase, regardless of what their salaries may be.
 COSTS ARE STABILIZED
 So effective has the Canadian price control been that cost of living has advanced only 2.5 per cent since the bonus law went into effect last October. First bonuses are to be paid this month and will total an eSti- mated million dollars week. For the United States, similar bonus would cost a minimum of 10 million dollars week.
 Take manpower Canada now has gone beyond the equivalent of full employment. Its 30,000 unemployed are all definitely determined unem- ployables. Five million of its pop ulation of 100000 population are employed. Three of those five mil lion are in the war effort or essential industries. From now on the prob- lem is to get more of the two mill lion shifted from the non-essential industries.
 To that end, unless the govern ment gives its approval, no one can be fired, no one can quit his job, no one can take job in a non-essen- tial industry. And no one can get or give an increase in wages.