TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Waikato Times, Volume 117, Issue 19606, 19 June 1935, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Taxes Without Tears —The Nazi Ideal

The Secretary of State in the German Finance Ministry has been announcing that “ the time will come when in all Germany each individual will regard it as a special honour to put forth every effort to pay as much money in taxes as possible.” It is a stirring thought (comments the Manchester Guardian), it sounds as though the day may dawn when the complete Nazi will sit down to fake the return of his income, and inflate the rateable value of his property, all with the intention of paying more taxes than would truthfully be his share. No doubt there will be some who will look with scepticism on such visions; they may protest that the picture will be realised only when the calendar contains a whole month of Sundays, when tlie sky is ornamented by a blue moon, and there are pigs flying round it. Still, even in this comparatively unheroic (and certainly unHitleriscd) land there was a magnificent rush t;o pay income tax promptly and in full in answer to the patriotic call made in January, 1832 and it is not inconceivable that some Germans may he seized by a violent ambition to go one hotter than anybody else in the matter of taxpaying, even as some of them are suspected of being anxious to go several times better in such matters as armies, aeroplanes, or submarines. Nevertheless, the fury to tax oneself as heavily as possible is an unusual ambition, and evidently the day which sees it in full eruption in Germany is yet some distance away, for Herr Reinhardt added that the encouragement of “ tax morals ” was one of the special tasks of Iho Nazi regime and that no punishment was too hard for those who evaded their dues. For the moment, then, there arc the baser sort who try to lax themselves too lightly instead of rejoicing in an exaggerated burden. Another point may be noted: Herr Reinhardt was addressing n picked audience of revenue officers. What• did they think about his dream of a day when people will tumble over themselves to pay taxes? If tlie dream comes true tliev will lie done out of their job, for those who ovcr-Ussess themselves and then rush to foot the bill will have no need of collectors and inspectors of taxes.