To the Editor of the "Mobrh-Chixan paw News"
SmI believe the time has come for Russian emigrants to define their attitude towards the Chinese Income Tax law and the compulsory methods employed with them in its collection. 1 Public opinion in the Russian community is not at all adverse in principle to the institution of the new Income Tax. It fully appreciates that the unification of China and a general improvement in its financial affairs would be advantageous, not only to the Chinese people themselves, but also to foreigners in their midst, It is a truism that sovereign states have the power to impose taxes upon residents within their boundaries, not only upon their own citizens, but upon foreigners as well.
In European states, however, the promulgation of Income Tax laws was preceded by a thorough investigation of the subject. The provisions of such laws and means of their enforcement have invariably been under consideration for some Years—a decade or even rore, in order to avoid the infliction of injustice or inequality. In each of the countries which have applied this form of taxation, the proposed law has been under long observation by political, social and commercial bodies, debated. at meetings and thoroughly argued and discussed through the medium of the press before being finally enacted.
Apparently the success of, its monetary reform encouraged he Chinese government to new ventures in the fax domain without realizing that such precipitate moves might be attended with grave consequences. The result of their haste and lack of proper forethought are early becoming manifest, 16 should be apparent to the Chinese authorities that the applica-Non of its income tax to the Russian element alone of its foreign population places the latter under an undue handicap. The tax forms an important item of expense against its business, from which exaction other nationalities are immune, Why did the Chinese authorities select the most impoverished element in the Shanghai community for its experiment? An elucidation on their part would be appreciated; Contrary to all precedent in European law, the Russian population of Shanghai is precipitately obliged, upon a month's notice, to comply with the demands of the Chinese authorities, whose method of compulsion is a refusal to deliver a visa without: a Certificate of Clegrance. No notice was ever given to these people of the intention of the Chinese authorities thus to discriminate between e and foreigners of other nationalities, nor were they served with copies of the text of the Income Tax law in their own or any other language. It develops that no translation into Russian has ever been made. Chinese officials, when questioned, prove entirely ignorant upon these matters, replying only in broken English: "You are a Russian—you have to pay,"
In conclusion, I suggest that an appropriate move would be for the Russian community to present its case to the League of Nations which takes note of appeals on the part of maltreated minorities, B. 6.
Shanghai, July 17.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.