Show 0 0 national topics topic interpreted by william bruckart national pr D C washington As it becomes more painfully apparent that there la Is no basis upon which seek new to expect present tax sources returns of federal taxation to produce sufficient sum clent funds to maintain the administrations rate of spending the president and the treasury are peeping into every corner for new sources of money they have already recommended to congress that the present nuisance taxes be re enacted to bring in some five hundred million a year and they are casting their eyes elseth elsewhere ere for other tax receipts in addition and as a part of the general pinch that the treasury now feels mr roosevelt has asked con gross gress to revise certain provisions of 01 income tax law to close up loopholes and prevent escape from taxation the presidents message to congress 0 on n this point was quite bitter and many observers thought rather unfair but nevertheless he told congress that it was up to the legislative branch to see that there was no tax avoidance the presidents message dealt with an alleged moral phase of tax avoidance and that part of his message has provoked much criticism of the chief executives attitude lie he sought in his statement to the congress to make it appear that many wealthy persons had avoided taxes and that by so doing they had sinned now the presidents view is entitled to consideration and his charge that there Is tax avoidance Is correct indeed I 1 believe no one can successfully dispute the charge that there Is tax avoidance of a wholesale character in the united states but when the matter is placed in the category ot of a moral issue it must be examined in a different light the president did not talk about tax evasion in hi his message he talked about tax avoidance tax evasion Is illegal and immoral tax avoidance Is purely and simply the arrangement by an individual so that he pays the lowest tax he can and still complies with the law I 1 am inclined to side with those in congress who have criticized the president on the attitude he assumed As long as congress tells an individual through the language of a law that he must pay so much tax and prescribes the conditions it if that individual complies with that direction of congress he does not commit a crime when he pays only that much tax I 1 am constrained to support my view in this instance with the lan guage of the late mr justice oliver wendell holmes who as a member of the supreme court of the united states gained probably as much respect as any man who ever sat on the highest bench mr justice holmes said in a decision of the court 21 years ago and now strangely apropos the following words we do not speak of evasion because when the law draws a line a case is on one side of it or on the other and if on the safe side it is none the worse legally that a person has availed himself to the full of what the law permits when an act is condemned as an evasion what Is meant is that it is on the wrong side of the line indicated by the e policy it if not by the mere letter of the law again and again courts have held that a citizen may employ any legal means available to him to diminish the tax which he must pay it would seem then that mr roose belts message used rather ill chosen and ill advised language when in dealing with questions of tax avoidance he sought to fo make it appear that it was wrong for a citizen to try to save his own money it has been rather interesting to note the type of outbursts editorial and verbal that message has come as a re causes stir sal r suit st of mr roose belts tax message s these outbursts have continued partly because the president asked congress to make an investigation of tax avoidance where some very large taxpayers are involved of course congress is going to do that at because it give congress or at least certain individual members ers an opportunity for publicity and they do not overlook opportunities cities for pu publicity bli city since the discussion of tax questions has continued on the basis of the projected investigation it has given plenty of writers an opportunity to express their opinion in detail many of these critics have become quite personal in their assault upon mr roosevelt and their biting observations are doing him no good politically at all in fact I 1 have heard some rumblings gs beneath the surface to the effect that his tax message has hurt him as much politically liti cally bally qs as his proposal to add six new justices of his own choosing to the supreme court of the united states probably the worst ol of these criticisms appeared in the washington evening star a newspaper that seldom takes a bitter stand on any question usually its position I 1 is S coffin confined d to the presentation of both ldes of the argument but it was different as regards the tax message the evening star called attention to regulations of the bureau of internal revenue which prescribed that a person mus must t count as income anything taken in payment of services whether that thing be money or some other thing of value it cited the fact that the president occupies the white house without payment men t of rent and that he has available a large start staff of servants who man that institution that he Is provided with automobiles and yachts and various other services and circumstances cum curn stances without cost editorially the newspaper then goes on has the president of the united states unwittingly failed to include in his income tax the value to him of the residence provided by the government which pays him his salary under these regulations it would appear that even the auto mobiles and the yachts provided provid ed by the government should be considered 9 in making out an income tax return there is no publication of income taxes and therefore the public is not informed as to whether the high officials of the government who are provided with residences as some are or with automobiles as many ot of them are take these things into consideration in reporting their income taxes it would scarcely be an argument to say that residence pr provided for a public official Is not part of his pay cabinet officers for example are not provided with residences by the government they must provide residences themselves at considerable cost it Is obvious therefore that a residence given a government official Is part ol of his pay when the president proposed the tax investigation he be said that he believed there were pick pich on a good many mil big ones of dollars that could be ba forced into the federal treasury as a result of such inquiry his action followed sweeping orders issued to internal revenue agents and au diters to review every income tax return with the utmost care the agents and auditors of course will go over the returns filed by the entire list of income tax payers little as well as big but the congressional investigation will be devoted only to some of the men called by mr roosevelt economic royalists it is obvious that congress cannot go into all returns so congress will pick on the big ones because those men will have names out of which good headlines in newspapers can be written the treasury a different idea about the investigation which congress undertook at the presidents request the Treas Troas plan contemplated tem plated a number of secret hearings star chamber sessions lons mid and I 1 believe everyone knows what can be had in a star chamber session with bureaucrats operating with all of the powers they possess in our government word of the Treas ideas did not please congressional leaders and they very quickly put their toot foot down on the scheme of course members of the house and senate figured they would not share in the political benefits unless they did the investigating I 1 hear much comment to the effect however that an anve investigation sti gation in tho manner congress had decided to make it is much preferable to the star chamber proceedings which the treasury proposed I 1 mentioned that the congressional committee is dealing only with big names the reason for this is plain it would do no good at all alj in a publicity way for the congressional groups to call in some small taxpayer who by availing hi himself of the privileges of the law had been able to reduce his total tax to a co comparatively few dollars on the 0 other t her hand if a big business man an economic royalist claims all of the exemptions and deductions that the law specifies and thereby cuts down his tax he becomes the subject or the target for much ballyhoo about tax avoidance I 1 do not see the difference since the president finds himself in a deadlock with congress on his proposal to t add Ps piles ites work w i six justices of his on congress own w choosing to the supreme court of the united states he has turned to a new approach in dealing with the legislative situation he has suddenly loaded congress down with work this is to be distinguished from the course he has followed in the earlier years of his tenure when he submitted only one legislative suggestion at a time now in addition to the court reorganization proposal there is before congress the far reaching governmental ern mental reorganization plan the billion dollar slum clearance and house building farm tenancy bill and a highly controversial piece of legislation proposing to establish minimum wages and maximum hours tor for labor these are in adal addition of course to the tax revision proposition I 1 have discussed above and the annual appropriation billi with the billion and a half relief fund measure basure 0 western newspaper union |