, 1863-12-16
without taking in!o calculation anything
likely 10 come from districts now insurrec-
finnorv



without taking in.o calculation anything
! likely 10 come from districts now insurrec-
tionary-"
| LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES.
+. The Commissioner holds that the dividends
of life insnra1ee companies should be e1-
empted from the payment Of the income tax,
| but proposes to make partln! compensation
! to the Treasury by increasing the stamp duty
=, rHH IS believed tint stamp on eyory poll
cyte or cmolument of like effect, Of fifty cents
! for each occ thousand dollars of the amount
insured, may be levied without depressing
the companies or diEcouraSing the demand
| for ineuTnncc. ). It should also be remarked
! that liIo insurance companies which are not
! purely mutual, hut which haTea capital stock
| Invested in them for the sake Of revenue,
should obviously be, taxed upon the revenue
in the same proportion as the gums md profits
| of any other business"
TAx:s ~uPoS LIQUORS.
IL. Ar increase Of the tax upon distilled spir-
| its TO sixty cents gallon Is recommended
| It is also suggested that tax upon malt OF
thirty cents d busncl be imposed, but should
| 1t be deemed advisable to continue the e:s-
cettion Of malt, and tax only the liquor p7o-
duccd By 1t, It seems certain that the revenue
might be considerably increased BY judicioas
enlargement Of the tax, eay to one dollar and
fifty cents per barrel '''.'-
!. :. *-.-: PETROLEUM. ::
Certain provisions Of the present law which
relate to petroleum have occasioncd cmbar-
rassment and require revision to make them
moro simple and efficient. The Commission
er condemns the, drawbnck allowed BY sec-
tion lis ns a'dircct discrimination against
! the people Of this country, and In favor Of
all Other nations, in supplying. Which nature
has given us alu,ost.a monopoly, and recon-
mends its repeal. -.
ToRACCe. .@ =. -.
Regarding tobacco us purely luxury, and
in 1oway necessary Of life, tho .Commis.
sioner recommends u large increase Of the
tax upon It, He eags:' :ts:' :
.sThi6 year, notwithstanding the extensive
planting in the Northern and Middle States,
the crop is estimated, In the last report Of
the Agricultural bureau, at only two hundred
and ffty-eight millions; being still one
hundred and seventy millions Of pounds less
than in ~1SCo: While the domestic produce
Inns been constantly increasing: and it vii
not be likely to be seriously affected by the
difference in price which its expectation,
subject to our excise on the raw. mate
f1in. a.SIt %1i OCCASION: tSa Therefore beg leayc
taxed in the leaf in the hands Of the
producer, and tint no drawback be allow
ed on it's expectation In that shape; 40 that
the cost to the foreign manufacturer may be
increased to the extent Of our excise. If
any drawback is to be allowed, the proper
policy of encouraging and sustaining our own
manufacturers against adverse legislation of
4 foreign Government, seems to require that
1t shall be allowed, ii ut NIL, only on the man
ufactured article. The extent to which the
allowance should SO is question Of some
nieety. The tax on tobacco IN the Leaf, with
all the stems on, might, I think, be fixed
injury to the producer, ut twenty cents per
pound. A light tax, varying from five to ten
or twelve cents per pound additional, might
be imposed on the manufactured conllnodi.
tx. 4 drawback on this from ten to fifteen
cents would give to the domestic manufactu-
rcr all the advantages Ae would desire III the
foreign market, md would, in some meas
ure, counteryail the. legislation OF foreign
nations TO his prejudice"
The use Of wines and the tax upon them
are thus treated In tile report:
"The cultivation Of the grape and tho
manufacture OF vino in this country is stlll
in m infant statc, aad good policy would
Sc; seem to require that they be encouraged.
That The consumption Of spirits is not r.
duced by high rates Of duties, 1t may be In
some respects owing to the fact that Cheap
wines are not furnished to the consumer. If |
cheap, mild vino should be male to supc7-
sedc spirits as the common liquor Of the |
In moral and industrial point of view, |
and any modification Of the excise tend |
ing In that direction would be desiea- !
bic. I npprcl,end, however, that the tax |
on spirits must ascend to much higher |
figure 1' tim las M yet been proposed; beforsany
mining the choice Of liquors on the part OF I
those who habitualIy drink them, and that Mt |
all events, In the present needs Of tho country !
for increased Tcfeaue, a duty Of ten cents
per gallon on native wines, will not be &C..
veIcly felt Or deemed unreasonable. These
changes in the amount Of duty to be laid on |
srirituous, vsnous and malt liquors seem to
be suggested by common experience and tue
policy which obtains in every wcll-poised
system Of taxation. They belong to class
Of luxurfes which may be properly dcnomi.
mated lurtful, and, If the consumption should
happen to be affected by the weight Of the
taxes, the result would not be without COM
pensntlon to the consumer and the country.
The duties orc now yery. low, In view
Of the modes Of using the snbj:cts of
them. Twenty cents q gallon is but one
cent and . quarter half pint-a quantity
allowance for moderate drinker. Three
times that tax would not be scnsibly fc!t, in
a proportionab1c increase of price. II 1t
would exert any influence on Consumption,
1t wonld be in fayor Of the cheaper liquors,
which, for that reason, could then better bear
some additional duty.
sIf in making your estimates Of the needs
Of the Government, 1t should be FUND that
10 considerable increase in the amcunt de-
rived from internal duties is desired,
should think it question worthy Of con-
sider.ion whether some increase Of tax On
all hrrtfu luxuries, including eyen tobacco,
would not be eligible, SO tlint relief might
be afforded to those interests that produce
the common nccessarfes Of life. II an in
crease Of tho tax on certain products Of
tic same time at least useless, would be at
tended by a diminution Of tax on such
commodities as contribute to the support, |
comfort or enjoyment Of the community, the
propriety Of the change would seen, to be OIL
vions. But if q large rerenueis wanted to
plying means for the large expenditures incl
dent to the war, the reason for the change
would become ilyincib1c.n
s;1sEnA1 WATERS, SC.
It is proposed to lcry the following taxes.
upon artificial mineral waters, soda Watcrs,
sarsaparilla waters, anl other beverages OF
like kind usually sold IL bottles-.wo cents
less: and when sold in bottles Of greater Gu
Tocity four cents per dozen for each dozen
Of bottles Holding pint or less; and when.
sold in bottles otstill greater capacity than
pint, one cent per bottle. When sold in any
other way, duty Of five per cent. aa rtlo,tal,
TAxISG LuyERiEs. =
A taxVpon the following articles Is recon-
1nended: ~--
Gold watches, pianos, guitars, dogs, look
ing glasses beyond certain size, diamonds,
emeralds, and other precious stones, kept for
Or use. :
COTTON. .:-.
Cotton is now subjected to !, duty of o,1c-
hnlf Of one cent per pound. Qundrup1e the
tax will not, in tie Commissioners opinion,
be excessive. So insignificant sum can be |
added to the price in the foreign market with
ont affecting the demand or exciting tlangcr-
ous competition. Thread md yarn ,nanutlc-