Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1862-09-19

1t is proper that, through the press,
the at,ention of the people should be
directed to the nature of the taxes about
to be levied by the General Government,
for, heretofore, they have been unac
customed to such taxes. This is es-
pecially the case with the citizens Of In
diana, for our State and county taxes have
been levied on what the tax page was
worth, and not on enumerated articles,
paying specific or al valorens taxes.
The Assistant Assessors will require
much information as to the discharge
of their duties, for the excise law con-
tains much uncertainty, and as yet no
Instructions have been prepared for
them by the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue. Being under the necessity
of closely examining the law, [ have
thought that some remarks on its gen
eral character, and close examina ton
of certain of its specified taxes, might
be both interesting and useful at this
time.
l. The General Character Of the Lar.
The taxes levied are Of three kinds-ad
valorem duties and the rate per cent.
thereon, licenses and emu merated arti-
cles with specific taxes thereon. To
separa tie these three kinds Of taxes SO
that they would not clash with each
other, by being levied on the same ar
ticles, or to separate the manufacturer
Of an article from the seller of it, is no
easy matter. The law aims to do this
But some difficulty may arise from the
fact that the article is subject to one of
these taxes and the manufacturer Of it
to another. 1t would have simplifed
he operation of the law, if this had not
been the case, and if all manufactured
articles had been subjected to the same
kind Of duty. While iron manufac-
turefs of certain kinds pay an ad valorem
DUTY, some of the manufacturers of
leather pay a specific duty per pound,
while others pay an ad valorem TAX.
In reading the law, many persons
may fall into error by looking at one
portion of it, without noticing other
portions limiting the meaning of such
portion. Thus, under section Is we
find this para graph:
'sOn all diamonds, emeralds, and all
other jewelry, a tax of three per centum
ad yalorem.' .s
Such persons would conclude that
watches, chains, finger rings, breastpins,
and all ether jewelry worn by the own
ers, were subject to taxation; but the
beginning Of section Is shows that taxes
on these and all other articles specified
in that section, are paid by the manu-
tacturer Or producer only.
The law does not go into operation:
as to all Of its taxes, at the same time.
Most of them accrue on the first day of
September, but all stamp duties not un-
til the first day Of October; and the time
when the income tax first accrues can
be determined by inference only. The
9lst section, which provides for the in,
come tax, says: The duty herein pro-
vided for shall be assessed and collected
upon the income for the year ending
the SIS, day of December next, preced-
ing the time for levying and collecting
said duty-that is to say, on the first
Monday of May, 1868, and in each year
lHCl lSullCI. anu SSttiui ~ uScldleS,
''that the duties on income herein i'm
posed shall be due and payable On or
before the Both day Of June, 1868, and
in each year thereafter until and inclu-
ding the year 1856, and no longer -
These provisions indicate that the law
provides but for four years of an income
tax, the first one not to be assessed un-
til in May, 1863. If this be so, the as
sistant assessors have nothing to do with
the income tax at this time.
?. The Manner Of Enforcing tie La,o
Duty Of -4ssessors. There is appointed
for each Congressional district an as
SCISSOR and collector, who subdivide it
into convenient assessment and collect
ion districts, and appoint their assist
ants. The assistant assessors are fur
nished with blank books, applications
for licenses, monthly reports of manu-
facturers, &c. During the month of
September for this year, and during
that Of May hereafter, the assessments
are made by the assistant assessors, as
certaining who is liable to pay taxes
under each of the three kinds Of taxes,
and when the total amount is ascer-
tanned and set down in the assessor S
book, it is signed by the tax payer,
thereby agreeing that the assessment is
correct, and that that amount is due un-
der the excise law