More Revenue

Secretary of the Treasury Mellon announced that income tax payments for March, 1923, now total $463,000,000--$63,000,000 greater than estimated and $70,000,000 greater than payments for this same period last year. This he attributes partly to better business conditions and partly to lower income surtaxes and the removal of excess profits taxes.

The surtax rates a year ago ranged up to 65%. Now the maximum surtax is 50%. On the basis of March tax returns he now renews his recommendation that maximum surtaxes be reduced to 25%. He asserts that such readustment would yield as large or larger revenues.

The reason for his belief is that high surtaxes drive wealthy men to invest their money in tax-free securities and non-productive enterprises, and to seek every permissible means of avoiding the realization of taxable income. The result is an unsound industrial condition and actually a decrease in revenue.