BURDEN OF TAXATION

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22103, 27 May 1937, Page 15

BURDEN OF TAXATION

TO THE EDITOB Of THE Kl>.E.;3. Sir,—The Associated Chambers of Commerce story on this subject, as published in "The Press," is utterly incomplete. No effort is made to tell us the relative weight of taxation measured in terms of the national income, meaning the aggregate incomes of all the individuals of the community. For example, if the comment in your leading article is accurate, the harvest this year from income tax is considerably more than double the total for 1933-34. Now the percentage increase in ihc rates or applicability of income tax has been nothing like 100 per cent. Consequently, the greater part of this double yield of income tax must have occurred because the national taxable income has greatly increased. There can be no doubt about it. Neither can there be any doubt that, providing increased taxation is obtained from increased national income, this country will be better off than under previous governments, who were responsible for the £232,000,000 of overseas indebtedness. It Is better to spread the national income than to permit it to accumulate into the hands of a few, to become immobilised, speculated in capital industries, or unwarrantedly spent on increasing productive equipment. The Chamber of Commerce should know that the amount taken by way of taxation does not represent an equivalent deprivation of the taxpayers. Space does not permit entering into the technicalities of the multiplier except to say that, with the exception of the overseas debt charges, the Gov-

rrnment spending of the amount collected in taxes assists materially to create the incomes from which the taxes are derived. —Yours, etc., L.D. May 26, 1937.