A CASE FOR TAXATION [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Stn,—Am I rightly informed that winnings through Stock Exchange operations are not taxable in this country ? It• strikes me oddly. I should have thought, if any discrimination be in order, that money thus made ought to be subjected to a double taxation : one for the gain, one for the thrill. But no discrimination should be made. In fiscal matters, particu- larly, the state should consider results, not motives. Of course, if any action conflicts with the law or with morals it should be- forbidden, but never overpassed.
But what about losses ? It may equally be asked, who, pray, compensates the merchant or the manufacturer for his losses ? I can perceive no grounds for exemption, from whatever angle Viewed. The thing is illogical—it is wrong.
Here, then, is fair and fertile field for the Exchequer, so hard pressed to find new sources of revenue. The tax would inflict hardship-on none, trade or industry. Nor is it likely that it will restrict activity of its own, unless there be some who, rather than pay taxes, would prefer not to win ; neither shoulctit divert operations to other centres, notably to America, for incomes there, whether derived from speculation or invest- ment, are equally taxed.
Now, what is it that keeps England from applying logic and common sense in this particular ? It is that which keeps her from applying it, in her corporate capacity, in certain other directions, in her trade relations especially. The thing is that England is dominated by her past, is rigidly tradition- bound. All her present difficulties, economic, financial, political, are to a considerable extent due to that leaning. England continues to act as if she still were the workshop of the world, still the undisputed law-giver of finance, still the unrivalled mistress of the sea. But England of to-day is not
the England or pre-War days. - - England, I submit, must make up her mind to throw off her sense of entailment, to stand adequate.—I am, Sir, &c., GABRIEL WELLS.
Carlton Mansion, 14 Pall Mall, g.W . I.
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