Taxes & Truth

When Alf M. Landon stopped talking generalities and got down to cases at Buffalo fortnight ago, one of his lustiest blows was aimed at New Deal taxation. "If the major portion of the Government's income," he orated, "is obtained from indirect and hidden taxes--taxes upon such things as food, clothing, gasoline and cigarets--then the main burden falls upon those of small income. . . .

"The share of the cost of Government falling mainly on those with incomes of $25 a week or less has increased 25% during the three years of the present Administration."

Following up Nominee Landon's lead, the Republican National Committee last week scattered over the U. S. a sheaf of Press releases on taxation, a brochure entitled Soak the Rich Taxes Really Soak the Poor. Purpose of both was to depict the tax load supposedly borne by the Little Man.

"I paid $1.50 for this shirt," reflects the GOP's Average Taxpayer. "Sixty-two taxes took 29^ of the price I paid. Sixty-three taxes took $3.53 of this $18 suit. Fifty-three tax collectors took 59-c- of the $3 I paid for this hat. . . ."

At the breakfast table his average wife joins him, points out that "more than 50 tax collectors take 2-c- of the dime they paid for the loaf of bread." In the course of the day the Taxpayer counts 1,200 taxes, his wife 1,500.

This time the Republicans obligingly documented their case with a list of 58 taxes which, they claimed, added 2-c- to the price of bread. An amazing political document, the list contained not 58 different kinds of taxes, but only 16 types, which the Republicans had multiplied by applying them individually at each step in the process of making and selling a loaf of bread. Thus a Federal income tax paid by farmer, grain elevator, flour mill, railroad, flour trucker, baking company and retail distributor counted as seven taxes. Even after multiplication, it was shown that only 13 of the 58 taxes were Federal. The rest were state, county, local or municipal.* Of the 16 kinds of taxes, only three were Federal: On income, on capital stock and on excess profits. These three, the only ones which Alf Landon could possibly reduce if he went to the White House, were not hidden but direct taxes, which he favors.

*Samples: Local real-estate tax, county real-estate tax, municipal real-estate tax, school district real-estate tax, local personal property tax, county personal property tax, municipal personal property tax, state income tax, motor license tax, auto truck state license tax, occupation tax, tax on grain storage, electricity tax.

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