War Taxation: Some Comments and LettersKahn, Otto H.
History
War Taxation: Some Comments and Letters
Kahn, Otto H.
Income tax -- United States; World War, 1914-1918 -- Finance -- United States
I greatly regret if what I said on the subject of Canada being free
from income tax gave the impression of being a suggestion for the
evasion by wealthy men of taxation during the war. The fact that
capital is not subject to income tax in Canada was, of course, well
known to men of wealth. I thought it a point and a fact of
sufficient importance as bearing upon our own taxation program to
deserve to be made generally known. That this might be considered
as either a suggestion or a threat of what capital might do during
the war, never, I confess, entered my mind, _for it would, of
course, be little short of treason for capital and capitalists to
take advantage of Canada's propinquity while the war is on._
You speak of the possibility of legislation to prevent this. If
capital meant to leave the country to evade taxation, there would
have been ample time and opportunity for it to do so during the
past six weeks. The price of exchange would indicate if that had
been done to any appreciable extent, and proves, as a matter of
fact, that it is not being done. If it were being done, I quite
agree with you that legislation should be sought to prevent it and
to punish the attempt. But I am entirely certain that moneyed men
will not think of evading whatever sacrifice may be required of
them by their country under war conditions.
What I meant to intimate in saying that capital and men of
enterprise would seek Canada if there was no income tax, or only a
moderate one, in that country, whilst America at this time imposed
excessive and practically punitive income taxation, was this:
Capital has a long memory. Capital is proverbially timid. I am not
referring only to large aggregations of capital but to all capital.
I am not referring only to the capital and capitalists of to-day,
but to those who accumulate capital by practising thrift and to
those who by invention, by conspicuous organizing or other ability,
by originality of method, etc., are instruments in the creation of
capital and will be, presumably, amongst the future owners of
capital.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account