AMERICAN MILLIONAIRES.

Auckland Star, Issue 265, 8 November 1929, Page 6

AMERICAN MILLIONAIRES.

I Figures issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenu o at Washington show that in the tax year 1927 two hundred and ninety Americans paid taxes on incomes of £200,000 or more. Eleven persons had incomes of £1,000,000 or more. We hear so much about American millionaires that some people will be surprised that the numbers are not greater. But it must be remembered that in America the term "millionaire" is applied to a l T °2? nn a . million dollar8 ' which is only about £200,000 in English money. The returns for Great Bntam for 1927-28, based on the wills proved, show that only seventeen people died worth £1,000,000 or over and the wealthiest of these had only £11,000,000, whereas in America 11 persons must have possessed double this amount judging from the interest on which they paid tax. Incomes in New Zealand are more evenly distributed than _in either America or Great Britain. Excluding incomes under £300, the greatest number of taxpayers pay on incomes between £300 and £500. Then there "is a marked decrease. If we take the figure 22 to represent incomes between £300 and £500, then those between five and six hundred would be represented by 7, those between eight hundred and nine hundred by 2. Only 227 returns showed incomes of £10,000 or over. In America it would seem that large fortunes are made rapidly and many of these fortunes would appear to be dissipated by the generation succeeding their makers. Some names which stood for immense wealth a generation or two ago are now almost unknown, while 59 newcomers in 1927 attained to the class of those who pay taxes on incomes of £200,000 or more. Prosperity can best be judged by the number of people with moderate incomes, and in this respect New Zealand occupies a favourable position. Out of 5235 estates passed for probate in 1927 only 134 were of the value of £20,000 or over. Of the 290 Americans with incomes of £200,000 or more 26 were women, and three were still unmarried when the returns were made up. Surely these three must have remained unmarried from choice, because it is difficult to believe that they did not have plenty of proposals. —WM.