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* The Nevada Tax Review PUBLISHED BY NEVADA TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION NUMBER 71 RENO, NEVAD A APRIL, 1946 AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS W e fe e l that the time has come fo r Am erican taxpayers to make their voices heard and to call a spade a spade. W e k n o w that all w ars are costly, w asteful, and leave in their w ake a capital debt. W e expect this debt. Current taxes cannot be m ade to finance a w ar. Even at hitherto un k n ow n h ig h rates, they paid fo r less than a quarter o f the cost o f W o r l d W a r II. N o w , how ever, w e have been at peace fo r m ore than six months. T a x rates are slightly lo w e r than in 1945, bu t are still unprecedentedly high. It is not that the A m erican people are not w illin g to make sacrifices to pay fo r necessary taxes, bu t taxpayers rig h tfu lly resent payin g unnecessary ones. W e submit that: 1. Existing taxes are an obstacle to an era o f prosperity u pon w hich the U n ited States is on the verge. T h ey thw art investment in n ew enterprises and the expansion o f existing ones. T h e result is in ­creased unem ploym ent and a reduction in the national income, w hich means the taxes w ill produce less revenue. A drastic reduction inj tax rates m ay b e o p ­posed as bein g an inflationary m ove, but such rates w o u ld be considerably distant from those n o w prevailing. 2. Existing taxes should be used to the fullest advantage, and this is not n o w the case. 3. Existing taxes are not needed o r be in g used exclusively fo r the necessary functions o f a country at peace, even fo r a governm ent w hich includes in its budget, provisions fo r adequate m ilitary prepared­ness. 4 . Existing taxes are not b ein g used to accom­plish a balanced federal budget. 5. Existing taxes are not bein g used to reduce the national debt, u pon w hich the annual interest alone amounts to $5,000,000,000. 6. E xisting taxes on the contrary are bein g used w astefully fo r unnecessary items. 7. Existing taxes are b ein g used as so-called loans to fo reign countries under the theory that they w ill be used to purchase Am erican goods. These nations, w h o prevent A m erican competition through empire preferential rates, w ill purchase from Am erica w hat they cannot purchase elsewhere on a competitive basis, and that is all. 8. Existing taxes are bein g used deliberately to foster and perpetuate a centralized, paternalistic, b u ­reaucratic, totalitarian fo rm o f governm ent in W a s h ­ington. T h e y are breakin g d o w n our R epublic by u surpin g state rights and hom e rule. T h e y are taking over subtly and by erosion the p o w e rs,o f elected rep­resentatives o f the people. T h ey are regim enting our citizens u nder super-controls, and through a maze ol red tape w h ich is based on an idealogy that the g o v ­ernment rules the people, and not the people rule themselves through the governm ent. T h e time has come to dem and a halt to this un-Am erican trend o f ou r governm ent. Let’s get the cart before the horse. Budgets and taxes should be no different fro m you r and my income and expenses. So m uch goes so far. Let’s, fo r a change, v ie w it the w ay w e w o u ld , n ot the w ay the governm ent is doin g. Let’s determine ou r expenditures in accordance w ith ability to pay rather than first determine h o w m uch w e are g o in g to spend and then find out h o w the m oney is to be raised. T h e first jo b w hich the taxpayers have a right to expect is a balanced federal bu dget fo r 1946-47. T h is can be done, and easily. T h e 1947 federal bu dget n o w under considera­tion calls fo r expenditures o f $35.1 billion, w ith esti­m ated revenues o f $31.5 billion , w hich means an estimated deficit o f $3.6 billion. Certain o f the b u dget items cannot be reduced o r eliminated, including the fo llo w in g : interest on the public, debt, tax refunds, veterans’ benefits and pensions, and estimated benefits necessary fo r social security, relief, an d various retirement funds. These items total $11.8 billion . O f the rem aining $23.3 billion , $7.1 b illio n are definitely open to challenge. O n M a rc h 4th, sixteen m embers o f Congress issued a fo rcefu l statement in fa v o r o f a balanced federal bu dget and stressed the inflationary effect o f deficit d o lla r spending by the governm ent. M em bers o f Congress issuing the statement in ­cluded some o f Congress’ most outstanding leaders and w ere as fo llo w s : Senators B yrd, Bridges, T a ft, T ydin gs, V a n d e n b u rg , W a ls h , W h e r r y and W h ite , and Representatives C o x, D o u g h to n , H alleck, K n u t­son, M artin , T a b e r, W h ittin g to n and W o o d ru ff. W e appreciate that reduction in pu blic expendi­tures is not the easy course. It requires courage to curtail appropriations fo r a bureau, or to consolidate o r abolish departments. T h ere can be n o excuse, h o w ­ever, fo r continuing in existence w ar-tim e agencies and activities, w h en in time o f peace the necessity fo r their function has ceased to exist. T h e Am erican peo­p le are cognizant o f the facts. T h e y are aroused throughout ou r entire nation. T h ey respectfully, but emphatically, dem and that the federal bu d get fo r 1946-47 shall be drastically curtailed, and at least be a balanced budget.