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Show SPECIAL FAVORS ARE ASKED BY CORPORATIONS We have never been able to under stand why corporations should be treated more favorably than individuals but there seems to be a widely prevalent idea, es-epcially es-epcially among corporation officials, offi-cials, that the companies deserve special favors. Consider for example Ihe plea of Alfred P. Sloan, an official of the General Motors Corporation, who says that "the profits of business bus-iness should be taxed only after they are distributed to business owners as individuals." We see no reason why the profits pro-fits of corporations should not be subject to the same taxation that applies to any individual engaged in business. Certainly, no corporation corpora-tion should escape taxes on its profits by the simple expedient of not paying dividends. The average American, operating operat-ing a small business, has to pay taxes on his income, or profits. He has no opportunity to set up certain cer-tain reserves, which are allowed to corporations. He has no choice of paying dividends, or not, because be-cause what he makes is taxed as personal income. Nobody is demanding that millions mil-lions of little Americans, engaged in business for themselves, be given giv-en the right to set up a cash re-or re-or to be used at some mythical serve to "cushion the depression," time to provide employment. We have no objection to any just system of taxation that applies to individuals and corporations alike, but " there is no occasion to lose sight of the fact that the corporation corpora-tion .is a never-dying entity, without with-out the ability to make any personal per-sonal contribution to the development develop-ment of a democratic society. |