"DEATH" DUTIES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 577, 4 August 1909, Page 9

"DEATH" DUTIES.

that one who is' pro- ■ fessedly : such a'deep'thinker! as' Dr. Find- , lay'should" bo found talking'about .graduated (.'death" duties. The very,term implies the ■ Shallowness of. his conceptions; Take a case: A arid 15, similarly. situated in every; way,, £20,000 apiece. But! A leaves one son, and. daughters. . Is it fair that' .theso two; estates should pay . the same amount of duty? ;.;It'is.tho,beneficiarios, the successors, who' paj' the duty, and. wo cannot hope to discuss tho, question intelligently, until we . dismiss, jthe expression .''death duty" from, oiir : vocabulary and , put, . '-'succession duty'? in ;its place. Hero is iyi 'actual c«so:-A farmer Uefta farm,.worth-ievon;or eight thousand'poiirids, in, trust for his widow-and four ■■ daughters. It paid the same legacy duty, I and the..farm, v ivhich ;is .'.let,; pays the samo I land- tax,as; if'- there : were - hut one be'neI ficiary. (Of course, the widow is the-samo I in either case.) If that man; had appointed • five separate "trusts, an. appreciable saving I would lir.ve be'en made. I contend that each 1 of. those, four daughters- should- pay upon her ■ beneficial interest,'" without 'reference to I tho fact that, she has thr£>e-ror for that matter thirteen—sistors.. Indeed, from tho ( "full-cradle" standpoint,! my contention is . unanswerable. If it comes to distribution I of wealth, and the effect of any form, of j dutyupon the man who is making his will, 5 the principle of a "death duty" affords ,110 f encouragement ■to , distribute widely.—l am, ' FATHER. OP SEVEN. - July 30.