All persons, companies and corporations are called upon to subscribe
10 per cent. of their " total wealth " to. a perpetual_ loan- bearing 3 per cent. interest. All those who. fail to :pay the levy voluntarily. will become liable to an " exceptional_ contribution." Wealth will be assessed by agreement on a co-efficient to be deter- mined later. Reuter says that the levy is voluntary only for those who do not pay Income rax and tor- those Income Tax payers who belong to the salaried classes or are members of the liberal professions. One is driven to ask at once : What is " total wealth " ? How can it really be assessed ? Can this complic:Ited scheme be put into working order soon enough to rescue French finances ? Is not the voluntary principle illusory ? What will the Senate say ? M. Herriot has won a breathing space by giving his opponents something to think about. What of their angry resistance when they lave recovered from their astonishment ? Why should a plunge into the mists of a • capital levy be preferred to the plain, broad road of an Ineom?. Tax which is just, scientific, accurate and easily collected ? These questions suggest only a few of the difficulties. Yet Englishmen -Without exception devoutly hope that a solution may be found.
