The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-07 00:00:00

THE DUTY ON FIRE INSURANCE.

The close of last week brought us to quarter-day
—a fact which it may seem somewhat unnecessary
to record. We have a motive, however, for doing
so. On that day there was due to Government from
certain taxpayers of the kingdom the sum of
£300,000, or thereabouts, and the same amount
will be levied in each of the three succeeding quar-
ters of the year. Altogether. something like
£1,300,000 will thus find its way into the Exche-
quer as a contribution to the revenue, and, as the
amount is considerable and the principle of the tax
quite unique, we ask for the attention of the public
while we examine its bearings. This seems the very
time for reductions and readjustments. Silk duties,
wine duties, Customs' duties of all kinds have been
doomed to extinction, and we shall be much sur-
prised if we cannot make out a case against the im-
post of which we are speaking—the duty on fire
insurance.

Thousands of our readers will have found in
their letter-boxes during the last few days a cer-
tain obliging reminder from their insurance offices,
and whici► adopts this method of intimating that,
unless a specified sum be paid within 15 days, the
guarantee desirable against fire will cease and de-
termine. The offices, however, are wise in their
generation. They are at the pains of analysing their
demands, and of discriminating in the very terms of
their notice between their own dues and the exac-
tions of Government. The premium, or payment
required for the purpose of insurance, is so much
—tie Government duty on the transaction is so
much more, The first point, therefore, for conside-
ration is the proportion between these two consti-
tuent parts of the sum—the next is the general
character of the tax itself.

On the former of these heads, the case presents,
as few will deny, a very startling aspect. The
Government duty exactly trebles, in ordinary in-
stances, the original demand. The premium com-
monly . required by insurance-offices is ls. Gd. per
cent. That is the consideration for which they will
guarantee an insurer against loss by fire, Supposing
that no particular or unusual risk attend the trans-
action, the offices will insure any property to the ex-
tent of £lOO in value for the payment of eighteen-
pence per annum. On the back of this, however,
comes the Government tax, and that tax is 3s. per
annum, so that the whole amount claimed by the
insurance-office becomes 4s. Gd. Compare this with
other taxes, and the impost will be -found almost
prohibitory. Even brandy was never made three
times as dear as it need be. We have been taking,
too, a mere unit of measurement—the single £lOO ;_
buimultiply it; and see how the figures run up. It
is no great thing to insure for £2,000. What with
stock in the case of a tradesman, and ordinary pro-
perty in the case of independent householders,
nothing is easier than to find this amount of obliga-
tion incurred. Be it remembered that the reckoning
must include every article in the house from top to
bottom—not only the furniture, the plate, and the
wine, but the wearing apparel of every member of
the family, and all, in short, which a fire would con-
sume. Now, as far as the necessary charge goes,
an insurance office would take the whole risk for £1
10s. per annum, whereas the duty levied by Govern-
ment actually swells the demand to £4 10s. The
insurer is thus taxed £3 upon 30s.—a proportion
perfectly enormous.
Let us now consider the character of the tax it-
self. Of course in some sense it is a direct tax, and
also in some sense a tax upon property, but we ven-
ture to say that. never yet was a property tax so
levied. Mr. Bright proposed the other day to place
a tax upon property. His scheme did not find much
favour with the public, but its principles were at
least more reasonable than those of the insurance
dirty. He would have taxed all property alike, wah-
taine
out allowing imprudence to bring a right of exemp•
tion; but he would not have treated a tradesman's
duty no
until its owne:anel
a property,merely for
or levied his tax upon goods ob-
stock as c
Jnior the purposes of sale. In the insurance
whatever is taken of property
in his house isietsontoot secureeall
ed itu againstponfo
rathpee
nrisk
,
with a str oc
of fire. A man with
ern. uninsured, whereas
£5,000 worth of plate or fur-
nitureii providedis
h e
choose neighbour,
must, pay 15s. yearly to Government, trade worth £5OO,
ntnent, besides is. Gd.
to the Insurance-ofiiee, if he
wished to be guaran-
teed against ruinous loss. The tax •t 1
levied, not upon property, but upou the
ztfoorfe, is
e
curing it. If a in.ln chooses to run the risk se-
curing it.
beggared, Government will encourage him in
his recklessness by exempting him from a tax; if
he is too cautious to incur this peril, he must pay
for his wisdom. It is in vain to argue that the de-
lay 3 does not really operate in this manner, and that
the amount is too small to deter anybody from in-
suring his goods. Ihe duty turns a payment of
£1 into £3, and it would be preposterous to sup-
pose that the latter obligati on would be accepted as
if a reduction of £2OO per
freely as the former.
not bring it into
cent. upon the cost of a thing will
more common use, what becomes of all the.
budget.' is
specula-
tions on which. Mr. Gladstone founds his budget?
What is the good of cheap silk or cheap claret un-
less- cheapness means increased custom in the