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Show Where Your Taxes Go How Uncle Sam Spends Your Money in Conducting Your Business By EDWARD G. LOWRY Author "Washington Close-Ups," "Banks and Financial Systems." etc. Contributor Political and Economic Articles to Leading Periodicals and a Writer of Recognized Authority on the National Government's Business Methods. Copyright, Wetfern Newspaper Union XIV. THIS WAS YOUR MONEY Consider for a moment, if you will, some further figures. This is your money I am talking about. For eveiy fiscal year from 1800 to 1S93, Inclusive, there was a surplus of receipts over expenditures. During this period of 2S years the surplus of receipts over expenditures totaled $1,-020,205,013.41. $1,-020,205,013.41. For the fiscal years 1S04 to 1890, Inclusive, In-clusive, the expenditures exceeded the receipts in the aggregate of $2S3,022,-991.14. $2S3,022,-991.14. For the fiscal years 1000 to 1004, inclusive, the surplus of receipts over expenditures aggregated $310,-319,165.04. $310,-319,165.04. For 1905 the expenditures exceeded the receipts , by $78,776,-u22.30. $78,776,-u22.30. For the years 1010 to 1914, inclusive, inclus-ive, the receipts exceeded the expenditures expendi-tures by $140,024,404.27. For 1015 the expenditures exceeded the receipts by $33,488,931.53. For 1010 the receipts re-ceipts exceeded the expenditures by $55,171,553.59, and for 1917 there was a deficit of $29.724,S04.73. From 1800 to 1017, inclusive, the receipts re-ceipts exceeded the expenditures for j each year with the exception of 1S94, 1895, 1S96, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1905, 190S, 1009, 1015 and 1017. The total amount by which the expenditures exceeded the receipts for these 11 years just named, is $443,700,744.70. For the 52 fiscal years, 1800 to 1017, Inclusive, the receipts exceeded the expenditures in 41 years, the total of such excess for that period being $2,501,453,1S4.16. For the fiscal years 1800 to 1010, the revenues were raised through an Indirect In-direct system of taxation. Beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30. 1910, the receipts from direct methods of taxation have usually grown each fiscal year, as will be seen by the following fol-lowing table: j 1M0 Corporation tax $ 20.951.780.97 1911 Corporation tax 33,516.976.69 1912 Corporation tax 2S.SR3.303.73 1913 Corporation tax 3a, 006, 299. 81 1914 Corporation excise tax. 10.6a. 077. 22 1914 Corporation Income tax 32,4f,6.6i2 67 1914 Individual Income tax.. 2S. 253, 534. 85 1915 Emergency revenue 52.069.126.23 1915 Corporation Income tax 39,156.596.77 1916 Individual Income tax.. 41,046.162.09 1916 Emergency revenue 84. 27S, 302.13 1916 Corporation Income tax 66,993,657.98 1916 Individual Income tax.. 67,943 594.63 1917 Emergency revenue 95.297.563.83 1917 Corporation Income tax 179, 572. 887. S6 !917 Individual Income tax.. 160,108.340.10 1918 Income and excess prof-Its prof-Its ta- 2.838.999.894.28 1919 Income and excess prof-Its prof-Its tax 2,596,008,702.70 The wuuiber of corporations mak ing Income tax returns showing tai able income, aggregated 52.40S In th calendar year 1900, and that uumbe Increased to 232,079 for the calenda year 1917. The number of individual making personal Income tax return aggregated 357.50S for the calenda year 1913, and that number increase' to 3.472.S00 for the calendar year 1017 For the fiscal year 1909 the tota ordinary receipts aggregated $003,589. 4S9.84, of which $300,711,933.05 cam. from customs duties, $240,212,043.5: came from internal revenue, and th balance was received from the sale o public lands and other miseellaueou Items; whereas, for the fiscal yea ending Juue 30, 1919, the total re ueipts from customs amounted to $1S4,, 457.SG7.39, wnile the internal revenue Including income taxes and corporu tion and excesn profits taxes, amountei to $3,S39.950,6li.05. So you will see that until 1910 th. money you paid toward the suppor of the government was slipped awa; from you so easily that you hardl; knew anything about it. You did no know that you were paying taxes b the national government. Indirect tuxatioo Is the most se ductive form of raising public rev enue. You never came in contact wltl tV federal government except when yoi bought a postage stamp. But now yoi know it every time you buy a drink a a soda fountain, or a bottle of medi cine, or sand a telegram, or make 1 long-distance telephone call, or per form any one of a score of other nor mul -activities of daily life. Some thing must be put in the kitty for the government. Its annual rakeoff run Into the billions. You pay it and tin government spends it. But all that part of the party 1: about over now. The oysters havt I been eaten and put in the bill. The; I must be paid for. It Is perfectly clea that in the future by far the greate. part of the revenue required for con ducting the public business must eomi from direct taxes. It Is also clem that the ordinary expenses for run uiug the government will in futun probably exceed four billion dollars i year. That Is a lot of money to taki out of your pockets, and mine. Hadu'i we better see what Is done with it, anil whether we can save any of It? Con gress, which Is very far-sighted, ant able, when its own skin is concerned to .distinguish a hawk from a hand saw at a very great distance, is be ginning to take notice |