Knud Tholstrup
[A biographical sketch on Knud Tholstrup appearing at
the beginning of his pamphlet, Why Put Up with Inflation? published
privately in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1961]
KNUD THOLSTRUP (56) was a farmer in his youth. His interest in
politics was aroused by observing the effect of the unjust system of
taxation, which penalized energy and ability through the progressivity
of income tax. In the community in which he lived, for instance, a
certain capable and industrious smallholder with 6 hectares of sandy
soil paid more in taxes than several farmers with 40 hectares of good
arable land, and the largest farmer in the parish, farming 80 hectares
inefficiently, paid no income tax for several years, which might be
regarded as a reward of passivity.
Later Knud Tholstrup entered business, and in 1946 he was elected to
parliament, in which he represented the Justice Party ( Retsforbundet)
for 12 years. He is an outspoken individualist and liberal.
In the course of time, the pressure of work became too great and he
was forced to choose between parliament and business. He decided to
concentrate his energies on managing the family enterprise, A/S
Kosan-gas, where more and more important work awaited him. This,
including the building-up of a prosperous shipping company, demanded
his full attention.
Nevertheless, the fact that Knud Tholstrup withdrew from parliament
did not in any way lessen his interest in social, economic and
political questions. He is a member of the presidency of the Justice
Party, and still takes part with great interest in debates on
questions of public interest.
Knud Tholstrup played a prominent part in organizing the coalition
government which came into power in 1957, and in planning the methods
for economic stabilization which were put into force immediately after
the formation of that government.
One of the conditions for the co-operation of his party in the
government was a balanced budget, and it was stipulated that serious
efforts should now be made to settle the question of the taxation of
land.
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