The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-28 00:00:00

.1 JANUARY 28, 1854.

UNITY FIRE INSURANCE ASSOCIATION,
Registered pursuant to Act of lyr/lament.
Chief Offices-40, Pall-Mall, London.
REPEAL OF THE GOVERNMENT I):17TY OF THREE
SHILLINGS PERCENT. ON FIRE tINSURA.NCE.
It has been the aim in modern times to arrlinge a system of taxa-
tion which, while it supplied the exigencies °Me State, would leave
commerce unfettered, and equalise the burdelis of individuals. The
various changes which have been lately made.` not be here reca-
pitulated. The principle is affirmed, and the r oval of all fiscal ano-
malies can only be a question of time. There is, however, one tax
so anomalous, so unjust, so cruel, so opposed to tile avowed policy
of the Legislature, that it demands especial ,:',Guergetlc effort on
the part of the public to seek for its abolition. Vie duty on Fire In-
surance is a tax indefensible save only by t ne essity felt at the
time of its imposition. An impost was the vied on every thing
which could by any possibility be taxed. It as in the year 1815,
by the act 55 Geo. 111., c. 184, that the duty as first imposed, and
which has remained to the present time unal ed, of three shillinga
annually for every hundred pounds insured fro fire.
Fire Insurance Associations are practical) the subscription of
sums of money by the multitude to save individuals from ruin by a
sudden calamity. A tax, therefore, on this subscription is opposed
to the whole theory of fiscal legislation, and forms at once an aggra-
vation of distress and a premium on improvidence. Loss by fire,
were It not covered by insurance, would frequently be ruinous to
individuals, and injurious to the wealth of the country. Associa-
tions, therefore, of the people to prevent a rain which legislation
can neither avert nor restore, so far from being prejudiced and op-
pressed by fiscal burdens, ought to receive every assistance and
encouragement from the Government. Rut iti fire insurance, the
Government not only does not protect the people, but it absolutely
prevents protection; for many persons remelt uninsured, or are
insufficiently insured, merely because they cannot afford to pay the
duty.

INJUSTICE OF THE TAX.
The tax on fire insurance is unjust m principle. It is a tax upon
calamity. Men are liable to the inroad of a secret enemy, whose
advent cannot be anticipated—whose devastation cannot be averted
—and who carries ruin in his train. To save himself from this ruin
and devastation, the insurer pays a sum of money in combination
with others for mutual protection. Having the tl; iportunity, if a man
neglects to insure his property,' he
commits au injustice on his fel-
lows, on the country, and on-the Government. ' The destruction of
his property leaves him a pauper, and a claimant on the in-
dustry and resources of others. By the consumrtion °fills goods, he
abstracts a portion of the 'wea th of the count*, which he has no
power to replace. He probably casts out of enri.oy those who have
been dependent on him for labour, without the ;`ewer of reinstating
them. And by pauperising himself, he no longer pays his fair pro-
portion of the expenses of the State.
But if his neglect be an injustice, how much more unjust must be
a Government impost upon the man who insures his property, and
thus saves the wealth of the country, defends himself from pau-
perism, and continues to contribute to the expenses of the State ?
What would be thought of that government which imposed a tax
upon a man whose property had been consumed? Though it would
be more palpable, it would not be more unjust than the taxation of
another because he had already providently taxed himself, to pre-
serve his property, and the wealth of the nation.
The Impost, moreover, is indefensible, because it does not come
within the primary principles of taxation. One of the first principles
of taxation is, that the tax shall press as evenly as possible on all
the subjects of the realm. if we try the duty on fire insurance by
this test, we find that the largest properties in the kingdom wholly
escape taxation, Men who have a large number of ships, for M-
I stance, do not insure, because they get such an average of loss as to
insure themselves one ship against another. It is possible to ima-
gine property over which the individual loss of each item would be
less than the amount required teinsure the whole. So that, in fact,
the largest holder of property, since he did not insure, would evade
the duty which must be paid by the poor man who insures a few
chairs and tables. The man, therefore, who does not insure his pro-
perty escapes taxation. The effect of this impo,t is, that he who
does his duty to the State shall be taxed—he who neglects his duty
to the State shall pass free.
Taxation of the people, also, for the exigencies of the State, is only
righteous when it yields protection in return. In Fire Insurance the
State yields no protection whatever. A man may have insured his
property, valued at 1,0001., for 50 years : dozing which time he will
have paid 37/. 10s. to the Insurance office, and 751. to the Govern-
ment. At the expiration of that time, if his property be consumed,
the Office will pay him 10001., while the Government knows nothing,
and cares nothing for him or his misfortune Tried by this test, again
the tax is therefore indefensible ; and no more reason could be given
for its imposition than for a tax on fire engines, fire escapes, water
mains, or other engines or appliances for the avoidance of calamity.

there is no reason but the high duty, why the whole of the pro-
perty of the kingdom should not be insured. The present amount
of revenue at 3s. per cent. is 1,100,000/. If the whole insurable pro-
perty of the kingdom were insured, with a duty of three-halfpence
only per cent., it would yield a revenue of 1,250,0001., hr an increase
of 110,0001., per annum, above that now obtained from the Three
Shilling duty.
This modification is moreover the form which our various pro-
gressive measures have pointed oat. High duties, wherever they
can be evaded, are found to be no more advantage to the exchequer
than high prices to the till of the shopkeeper. The reduction of
postage from its former prohibitory charges to one penny, has
brought increase instead of loss to the revenue. The reduction of
the expenses of transit have caused an enormous increase in the
receipts of the Railway and Steam-boat Companies. The reduction
of Omnibus and Cab Fares have led again to increased profits.
The reduction of receipt stamps to the uniform penny will secure
a corresponding revenue, honestly paid, and avert the continual
faaud practised on the old system. Those intelligentreforms, then;
which set the masses letter-writing and travelling, will, if applied
to the Fire duty, set the masses insuring.
REASONS WHY THE UNITY HAS ORIGINATED THIS