The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1856-01-17
WHOLE NUMBER $50.

ciselv In the same ,rav..r A different mia.
wouid ohviousIv. u,orks .eyioual ,in;ns,;ee- A..
Ohia merchants. becausay Nth dedaefion.
for credits, FOREIGN merchant. mioht trade,
in our State without having one dollar az .
taxes. A0ain. Vireinisns ov \ Iani 4, Ohio,
They owe norton of the purchsse mokev 8
either in one or the other ,of theae afstea,-. /,
Shall we DENY the right 10 levy fair. .oropor-.
ton of taxes upon the lands IN question i -
The rule for deduction for debts woah eyi-
IDENTIFY work endless CONFUSION. Take the
case one of our own citizens. rnapy ofwhoml
own both real and personal property IN
more INN one locality, and are indebted for
a part Of fae same,--whers shall the de-,
-duetion iie made. Sh8t1it be at their own
optionl H s.esa- 5 y, Nlis4 sef
The doctrine so frequently advanced thar
"man shonId be taxed only upon what he has
and un what he hasuot. does not IN facf applv,
to our system of taxation. Our duplicate iists,
The visable property in the State and not the,
persons. A large number OF the inhabi-s
taRts Of the State are not upon ii, while il
countains the names OF many who resideI
beyond its limits. This is sufficient an
swer to such avowels. .f ss4s 80 :
Simplicity both ofdetail and principle, ID
an important element in the construction oE
all revenue laws. Evasions multiply with
exemptions and deductions, and the india
vidual tax payer will be apt, through mental
reservation, to enlarge the sphere for which
the legisiaturer has set him the exaDple.---s
He, too has favorite objects which he thinks
is hard to tax. The more generally we adj
dopt the principle of taxing equally all pro-l
a N 10 md fo Or kvil hn ffra
effects. Their unequal operations, rather
than their amount, makes taxes oppressive.s
In our State tax inequalities are necessafiiss
unjust Every dollar that is remitted to. Or
withheld by one person, must be made up
and paid by others. The amoant Of taxes
is not reduced by suffering property to es-'
cape; the only result is that the taxes ares
unjustly levied. Exemptions and deduc~
tons but mar the uniformity and equality
of our tax laws, and for this reason, it for
no other. there should beas few as possi-
Bile. ar al s tfss3 yssa
An equal tax on property basedon these.
rules, with few exemptions, and deduc-
tions, leaves very very little opportr1
nifty for individual evasions.m Hss assess-
ments and valuations are more easily per-
fected; they may be made quicker, and yet
be far less inquisitorial. Such system
must eventually recommend itself to all
as the one best adapted to our circumstances
as people. Under it the measures of saxl
alton would be based upona generahprinr
cipie--that principle would be enforced by
tbe people themselves. They would watch
and expose individual failures TO list, and
thereby carry out the honest object OF the
law. Then the people. will soon habtuate
themselves to look, for and detect the true
cause Of any increase in the taxes and their
reformatory efforts, being rightly directed,
would always be successful
The proceeding remarks are not intend
ed to preclude all amendments to our tax
law. On the co trary, it is admitted that
several might be made which would render
them more efficient. The assessments and
valntions OF personal property, especially,
shouldbe accelerated, so that littleifany prop
erty could be listed twice. There is no reason
why, by proper subdivisions. it could not be
done within few days. This would not
increase the expense. The phruseology OF
the tax law might also be made more defn.
lte in many instances. The world "credits'
should be SO qualified as to include only
such outstanding dues as have assumed de-
Unite shape and value. thus equallzing
md perfecting our tax laws themselves, by
imposing proper restraints on heauthorities
that levy ana exPend them, we shall have
true public economy, light expendimressand
wise distribution ofthe same, together with
faithful application Of the peoples money
to the frugal purposes OF democratic gov
Intimately connected with the tax laws
is the custody OF the. public money between
its collection and disbursement. The money
collected on the grand duplicate lone year
is not disbursed until the following, SO that
much Of our public revenue emains one year
and more IN the State and County Treas.
nries. Evil have arisen from this which re-
luire early attention. Our revenue officers
have thus been tempted touse the public
unds for purposes Of private emolument.--
The pernicions Influences that mnst neces-
sarliy now IRON snch m'alihleassaance, lo say
nothing q ehe danger TO which TIE public 4
treasure is exposed, Is tco obvious for COM
ment ess@ss 4, n. ,..a i,y srg gAs
Nor would it change the matter BY des-- 4,
posting The. public funds with banks, The \,
best TREASURES OF q free, intelligent people |,
are their own pockets, ard no Government
has any right to deprive its members al 4
their means one moment soonef or. iong gef,ss
than is unaVoidably necessary for the publ "a
service. From these considerations, il would
suggest that our assessments,
and every thing connected with
he making up Of the grand duplicate and !,
@ ,e 50 arranged Is q bripp ,be eolIeet;on