The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-17 00:00:00

TIIE AMENDED TAX BILL.

This bill, reported to the House of Representa-
tives by General Schenck, chairman of the Com-
mittee of Ways and Means, on the 12th May, is
entitled "An Act to itecluce into one Act, and
Amend the Laws Relating to Internal Taxes. It
is the longest bill ever reported, extending over.
one thousand pages. It revises the whole revenue
system of the United States, upon a plan mainly
suggested by the Special Commissioner, Mr. Wells,
though there are points in which his opinions are
set at naught; for instance, the fee, ure withdraw-
ing all taxes upon manufactures which has been
carried by a strong pressure in spite of the warn-
ings of the Secretary of the Treasury. By this
bill the internal revenue is erected into a
separate department independent- of the Trea-
sury proper, of which the chief officer is to be
a Commissioner, whose annual salary is to be
$6,000; the Assistant Commissioner a salary of
$l,OOO ; six Deputy Comnaissioners, with a 6 Cary
each of $3,000 per annum ; a SJlicitor, at a salary
of $4,000, together with the requisite number of
clerks and messengers. The Commissioner has
power to appoint and remove all Collectors, Asses-
sors, Assistant Assessors, Supc.‘rviors of Revenue,
Inspectors, Gaugers, Storekeepers, and other offi-
cers and clerks provided for iu this Act, who shall
severally give bonds for the faithful performance
of their duties as may be required by law. The
Commissioner is required to organize a system for
the distribution of labour and duties in his depart-
ment by establishing six divisions therein, to each
of which shall be referred whatever relates to a
partieu.i.ar class of subjects, as follows :--
"Division No. I.—All that relates to special taxes and
taxes on sales and gross receipts. No. 2 All that relates
to stamps. No. 3 —All that relates to taxes and legacies,
and successions, incomes and salaries, banks and other
corporations. No. 4—All that relases to the taxes on dis-
tilled spirits and oils. No. s—All that r, fates to the taxes
on tobacco, snuff, and cigars, and fermented liquors. No.
6—All that relates to the bonds of revenue officers and
others, and the keeping and settlement of the accounts of
collectors and other officers."

A new class of officers is created—the same as
recommended by Special Commissioner Wells two
years ago—called Supervisors of the Revenue, oue
of whom is to be assigned to each Judicial District
of the country. It is made their business to super-
intend the general collection of the revenue, and
to report from time to time the manner in which
business is transacted by Assessors and Collectors.
They are also invested with the power to rotate or
change from place to place all the sub-officers, such
as inspectors, gaugers, and storekeepers, whose
duties are prescribed and salaries fixed. The bill
prescribes the duties of Assessors and Assistant-
Assessors, and the method in which taxes shall be
assessed ; and also those of collectors and deputy-
collectcrs, and the method of the collection of taxes.
It provides for proceedings where seizure and dis-
traint becomes necessary in order to insure the col-
lection of the tax, together with the regulations for
the conducting of suits, remission of taxes, and the
compromising of fines and penalties. The bill pro-
vides for attention to frauds, and penalties, and
drawbacks ; and the fourth division of the Act
embraces several comprehensive and complete
sections with regard to the execution and filing
of bonds. The fifth contains several miscel-
laneous sections, bringing together in a com-
plete manner, and under separate heads,, all the
provisions of the law relating to each separate de-
partment. In these respects the bill, it is claimed,
will have great superiority over the existing sta-
tutes, a superiority which, in fact, characterises the
entire bill. The next department embraces the
special tax formerly known as licenses. The num-
ber of these is greatly increased, probably double.
The rates are very generally advanced, although
some occupations formerly taxed are now exempted.
In this section the manufacturers' tax of $2 per
$l,OOO, or one-fifth of one per cent. is retained.
The next department of the bill is that relative to
stamps, which has now been greatly amended.
The succeeding department embraces a variety of
special taxes, including those on banks and bankers.
Passports and taxes on the articles mentioned in
what is known as Schedule A, which includes car-
riages, watches, and pianos. The ohl division of gross
receipts
.is abandoned, and in place thereof each
source of taxation stands by itself. The bill pro-
vides on snuff, manufactured of tobacco, or any
substitute for tobacco, ground, thy, damp, pickled,
scented, or otherwise, of all descriptions, when pre-
pared 'for use, a tax of 40 cents per pound. And
snuff flour, when sold or removed for consumption,
shall be taxed as snuff, and shall be put up in pack-
nges and stamped in the same manner as snuff. o‘,
all chewing tobacco, fine cut, plug, or twist ; on all
smoking tobacco, not made exclusively of stems ;
on all tobacco twisted by hand or reduced from leaf
into a condition to be consumed, or otherwise pre-
pared without the use of any machine or instru-
ment, and without being pressed or sweetened,
and on all other kinds of manufactured tobacco,
not herein otherwise provided for, a. tax of 40c. per
pound ; on all smoking tobacco made exclusively of
stems on all fine cut shorts; the refuse of fine cut