The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1943-05-07
AN OPEN
LETTER
Columbia Falls, Montana

May 8, 1943
Representative Mike Mansfield
House of Representatives
Washington, D. c.
Dear Congressman:
I sincerely hope that you will give
the following reasons against forgive
ness of taxes, set forth in this open
letter being published in The Peoples
Voice, your serious consideration.
AS everyone knows, the time for
high taxes is when money is flowing
freely; therefore, forgiveness now is
only plan to reduce taxes on those
who already made the money and can
afford to pay at a time when there
is little or no need for new capitali-
cation; furthermore, it can only mean
that taxes will have to be kept high
at a later time when money and jobs
are scarce and incomes are Iowa
time when taxes should be lowered.
Forgiveness now will increase the
national debt by just as many million
as are forgiven plus the interest on
those millions until some other means
of revenue can be worked out to raise
that amount of money in some other
way And that money will have to be
made up in some other way or ways,
ways which can only work hardship
on the poorer people for it will event
ually mean higher taxes on the lower
salaries, wages and incomes, which in
numerous instances have not in
creased sufficiently to keep up with
the increased cost of living. These
makeup-taxes, whether sales tax, SO
called withholding tax, or increased
income taxes on lower income groups,
will fall on the people least able to
pay.
A great deal is being said about
initiation. The chief reason given for
this is the difference between national
income and the amount of available
consumers goods-in other words, the
fact that there is a large amount of
unspent money in the hands of the
people Why then increase this dan
ger by forgiving hundreds of millions
of dollars in taxes to people who have
already made the money and who can
afford to pay? The President has
pointed out that to increase the earn
ings of the farmers would start an
inflationary spiral If that will cause
so great calamity, what will forgive
ness of an even greater amount do
to increase initiation? Again the bur-
den will fall on the farmers and labor
ing men who will be forgiven COM
paratively little and in most cases
nothing, but who will suffer most |
from initiation of prices of food, cloth
ing, and other increased costs of liv-
ing.
These new taxes (the 20@o with
holding tax to start with will also |
have tendency to have very detri- |
mental affect during the reconstruc-
ton period after the war. A blanket
20% so-called withholding tax, which |
is no sense lives up to it's name, will |
not only bring hardship on the fam
lilies of the low income groups, but |
will decrease the incomes of other
large numbers of the working class
until it will practically destroy their
ability to buy bonds. If any of these
withholding taxes are returned to
them after the war, it will be without
interest; thus, savings of these people
will be reduced in two ways. 1t must
be remembered that saving among
poorer people are used only as reserve
or accumulative purchasing power
which will be used in buying consum
ers' goods after the war and in this
way would greatly aid in the recon
struction period. The well-to-do and
wealthy will not need to spend their