As mentioned in our news columns, the inheritance-tax law has been declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court. The premises to the decision cover all the constitutional objections raised against the law, and for this reason the decision gains so much significance. The law places a tax on legacies of more than ten thousand dollars. Legacies of lesser amounts, as well as legacies between husband and wife, are tax free. Legacies of ten thousand dollars or more are taxed according to a progressive scale, that is, the tax on such inheritance increases at a higher rate than the increase in inheritance. Also, the tax rate increases with diminishing relationship degree, so that the more distant relative pays a higher tax than the nearer relative. These two principles are in conformity with the new law on inheritance taxes in France.

A number of objections were raised against the law, but the Supreme Court rejected them all. The Court declares that an inheritance tax is not a direct tax; it is simply a fee in connection with the right to inherit. In addition, the Supreme Court declares that the constitutional requirement of "uniform" taxation must be interpreted geographically, which means that the same rule holds good for every part of the country. In regard to the principle of progressive taxation, the Court declares that it is a question for the legislature to determine, Finally, the Court declares that U. S. bonds are not exempt from inheritance taxation.

The decision will be received with satisfaction in the various sections of our country. The inheritance tax is the most easily justified of all taxes. Except for heirs in directly ascending or descending lines, there is no natural right to inherit. If the state recognizes such right, it is only just that the heir in question be made to pay a fee or tax on his inheritance. The inheritance tax is perhaps the most effective of all means at the disposal of society to prevent the accumulation of property in the hands of a few.

This type of tax is comparatively new in the United States. In 1893 only nine of our states had enacted laws stipulating an inheritance tax; at present such laws have been enacted by seventeen or eighteen states. The decision by the Supreme Court referred to in this editorial will give a mighty impulse to the reform, and it is safe to say that the tax will soon be adopted throughout the country.....The decision has given the final force of constitutionality to a type of tax which, of all taxes, is the most equitable and the most beneficial.