The National Register. — London, England, 1816-02-11 00:00:00

...:. , '" THE NATIONAL REGISTE L , J,Utr Ring, Constitution ant, iLatos. PUBLISHED AT NO 81, ( HANcERY-LINE, LONDON. - ~.. N 0.423. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY it, IS 6. PRICE 914. POLITICAL DISQUISITION. The Iscomt-Tax considered as Unjust, Oppressive, and Ruinous. THE Continuance of the Properly-Tax for a time, which Mr. VANSITTART admits he cannot declare to be limited, but whicli may lead to a permanent adoption of the measure, we instantly foresaw would give a sudden alarm to the whole country. The city of London, not merely as being first in rank and importance, but as being a respectable body of the people most readily convened, have loudly and unanimously, in their Common Hall, raised their voices against it. Mr. , WAITHMAN, the mover, was actually seconded by every speaker; and by none more strongly supported than by the respectable Mr. S. DtxoN, who is his stout and sturdy eppo nent upon almostall other occasions. The Property-Tax imposed, now that a definitive treaty of Peace is signed with France and with all Europe, if not all the world, is so violent a disappointment of all the hopes of the people, that it operates like an electric shock, or the cry of invasion. BUONAPAfterE, with 100 4 ,00 Frenchmen, or, what would be far more probable now,. BLUCHER, at the head of his Prussians, CTZERNIT2SCHEFF and SCHWARTZENBERG, atty orother heroes whose names we cannot pronounce, with a host of Prussians and Austrians, and ahordeof Camas, landed on our coasts, we believe would not more suddenly rouse the feelings of the country than this " dreadful note of prepara tion," for the comforts of peace, and the glories of conquest. It is our intention to examine with fairness and with cool ness all the public acts of our Government, upon which the opinion of a regular journalist, who undertakes to be the faith ful ;ter and weekly historian of his times, maybe required; reps: and if we did not entertain for this tax, in its commencement and its progress, a rooted abhorrence upon every principle of political economy, financial prudence, and public liberty, our voices should not be heard amongst the number that oppose it. If we deemed it necessary, we would submit to it: if we thought it wise, we would commend it : if we held it tolerable. we might be silent. But we condemn it altogether as une qual, unjust, inquisitorial, ruinous to individuals, disgusting even to the collectors, injurious to morals, pervertible to the worst oppression, and, finally, if tamely rect.i 'ed and fully col lected, exhausting to the resources, and prejudicial to . the pub lic safety, of the country. This, we know, is taking a high tone, because it has been the fashion 2anongst a great many to censider a pro e:ty-tax accurately collected, ;is the fairest and mod just ,of all taxes ; all by .me of tha.:2 who are eal:el Oppositio. writers, as e Editor of the. Miwning Chronicle, it has been 110.:,:y and. Were we ofthis opinion, it must follow : .• "refer it to allooAprs, end recommend the abe etlacr tvAcs a.c..‘ount chat. If indecd it is; tion can be made, the iiiirest of all taxes, it would 'Z.): in our opinion, that it should immediately hecorae the only tax.- Whosoever, therefore, professes this opinion, can have no jus tification for opposing its continuance, but ought to propose such modifications as might render it effectual for the pur poses intended, and deprive it of all those means of oppression and inequality, if possible, which are supposed, upon* this hy pothesis, to render it inconvenient in practice, and. odious to the people. We will examine the arguments for it, and against it. It is said to be most equal, because it takes from each indivi dual's income a fixed proportion;. and if every man is taxed according to his income, every man is taxed justly. It is also less expensive in its collection, - as it is supposed,s. than any other tax; and he who pays to it, pays only what Go sernment receives with a small deduction of poundage, and is not burthened with an increase which is added to it so. pro !: t, by all the previous hands through which the tax has be In pia sill it is finally paid by the consumer. This we believe is .11e sum of all the arguments in its favour, except one which we had nearly forgotten, and whieh we thank the Morning I .ChrOnick for bringing to our mind; namely, that it tends to get at the property which the wealthy and . penurious withhold from the reach of Government, when they tax cans. modifies and expenditure, and makes the drier pay to the s upport of Government one-tenth of the income which h e wrings from the poor, and hoards for posterity. •.. s On the contrary, it is ur g ed that it is an unfair tax;. fr because it considers the owner al the freehold and of the life estate as possessing the same means of contributing tss wards the necessities of the Stite: and what is still worse, ex acts fissu the trader and the professional man a similar pro portion of his income, Ikhieh is necessarily precarious, and dependant upon the contingencies of health and fortune, as from the man of fixed income, who, to use the vulger phrase, has the same money coming in, whether he works or plays. Secondly, the mode of collectin g it is necessarily galling and oppressive. It puts some men to a cruel inquisition, which, if it tries nothing else, tortures their conscience; while it af fords to others the means of evading a necessary tax im .pudent imposture, and at last by a perjured falsification of the truth. Thirdly, it enables Government, in all cases cf commercial and professional assessment, if they should be in clined to act corruptly, to enforce the tux strictly :against ob noxious indiYiduali or against classes and sects of the people, while it enables friends of the commissioners and supporters of Government to acquit the property tax nearly at their own pleasure, as flu as professional or commercial income is con seris..d. This, on the other hand, is the plain substance of at arguments which we have hitherto heard against it ; to Which we shall add some of our own, derived front a deeper owledge of political eeonomy.and the osurces of taxation, its effects upon the value - or "waxy and the property of „ - . _, L iul..:ly so cle;.igii- a le , v, that We should w hi c Lbolitiort of many. : knov tulC- Di by y ' . .aad • 4‘ ,-:,,1,..... 4 , :,• : , :: : - •-•' _ . \ , • - i i, , , __;• -4.,-