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70 HASKINS & SELLS July Federal Taxation—1920-1930 BY ARTHUR B. FOYE ASSISTANT MANAGER, NEW YORK OFFICE. T H E subject of federal taxation will be of importance for the next decade to every accountant in his capacity as a citizen. Not only will he be concerned with the total amount toward which he must contribute, but with the mode of levy which will determine his individual share. In his capacity as an accountant, it has particular emphasis. The time and energy to be given to this subject by the staff men are largely dependent upon the permanence of the taxes to be studied, the relative importance of tax expense in the statement of Income and Profit & Loss and the tax liability in the Balance Sheet, and the value of the service that may be rendered to a client in connection therewith. The degree of attention to be given to organization for and education of the staff in tax work by the accounting firm is determined by the same factors. As in the case of every vital subject, no single plan, lucid and concise, which adequately resolves the complex situation has ever been presented. What national honor would come to the individual who could lay down in simple language the unquestionably right plan to follow with respect to the League of Nations! What undying fame would be the portion of the philosopher who could set forth in a plain manner the one philosophy which would infallibly conduce to immediate as well as future happiness! What gratitude would be his who could devise an understandable, satisfactory and adequate scheme of taxation! The problem with which we are confronted in taxation is to determine the revenue needed to sustain the Government and then to arrange a plan to raise it with as much equity and as little pain as possible. Government will continue to be more costly than before the world war. The reasons lie partially in the general rise in the price level, and partially in the expanded functions of government. While the amount of revenue to be raised automatically increases with a rising price level, tax rates will naturally not increase in the same proportion. The creation of new and the broadening and deepening of old functions of the government, however, will require additional revenue that can be secured only through opening new sources of taxation or increasing the rates of taxes already in force. The present tendencies toward governmental control and governmental ownership presage the need for increasingly larger current revenue. In addition to raising normal revenue, the cost of the war must be paid. Interest on the war debt is heavy. "Cleaning up" governmental war operations will be expensive. The war debt itself must be amortized. It is estimated by competent authorities that a yearly revenue of $3,500,000,000 will be required for from five to ten years. Compare this with revenues from 1900 to 1916, which ranged from $567,000,000 in 1900 to $779,000,000 in 1916. The necesssity for heavy taxation is patent.
Object Description
Title |
Federal taxation -- 1920-1930 [News items] |
Author |
Foye, Arthur Bevins |
Subject |
Taxation -- United States |
Personal Name |
Champlin, Hervey Simpson Stevenson, Mr. Carson, Mr. Farrington, Howard Faulkner Garner, Howard Preston Brawner, John David Doiseau, Clarence M. |
Office/Department |
Haskins & Sells. Buffalo Office Haskins & Sells. Shanghai Office Haskins & Sells. Watertown Office Haskins & Sells. Philadelphia Office Haskins & Sells. Paris Office Haskins & Sells. New Orleans Office |
Citation |
Haskins & Sells Bulletin, Vol. 03, no. 07 (1920 July 15), p. 70-73 |
Date-Issued | 1920 |
Source | Originally published by: Haskins & Sells |
Type | Text |
Collection | Deloitte Digital Collection |
Digital Publisher | University of Mississippi Libraries. Accounting Collection |
Date-Digitally Created | 2009 |
Identifier | HS Bulletin 3-p70 |