The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1864-06-16
Our Ability to Pay Taxes.
From tho New York Times.

The London Economist and the Sat.
urday Rcrieio ither OF them are par.
tial To this country-havc taken occasion
lately to call attention to an important
economical fact, developed by this war
the immense wealth of the population of
the Free States. The Economist, in a
recent able article on the subject of our
"ublity to bear taxation," demonstrates,
as il ugain.t the popular opinion of Eng.
land, our capacity to bear easily $780,
900 900 annual taxation. The writer
states that the great peculiarly of A.
mcrican society has not been understood
in Europe-that is the large number of
people with an income say of $500.
There are not, he admits, a body of men,
re presenting, for instance, such an a.
mount of property as is represented by
the British Parlimcnt, but there far
larger number of small property holders
with taxable incomes than in England
Reconng the average wages OF the
American laborcrs and small farmers at
81 80 u day which he believes to be u
luw estimate, and the number of families
in the Union at five and half millions,
he thinks the wagc-ncomc of America
would be equal to the property income of
Great Britain. The income of our mid
die class he estimates as equal to that
OF the British middle class though the for.
mcr possesses less accumulated property.
Suppose tax laid corresponding 10 the
English, of three shillings on the pound,
he concludes that El2O, 100000 could
be raised here from direct taxes, without
counting the indirect taxes on Injuries.
With respect TO the willingness of our
people To pay he entertains little doubt
that where debt is 80 universally held
aud where population is SO well off,
the tux would be paid with but little
grumblng. IIo does not see why an
American f" farmer" or artisan should
not be willing to pay for the American
nationality, or dignity, or safely, or what
ever we consider II, as much as the Brit
ish bankers clerk for the Brltish--narnc'
ly, three shillings on pound. Grum'
blings there would be, but there are
grumblings from English rate payers,
aud yet the poorest pay with little oppo-
sition. There might be many difficult
ties in collecting, but experience and in'
gcnuty would gradually perfect modes OF
raising the taxes which would be the
most effective and the least annoying.
And, as he Justly argues, II is hardt fix
limit to the amount OF indirect taxes on
luxuries which might be raised from So
rich people. His final candid conclus-
ion is that the European public have not
at all estimated correctly the American
ability to bear taxation.
We are glad that so eminent hnan-
cin authority us the Economft has od'
mittcd what has long been claimed by the
lin0nciers OF Amcrica--the immense pro-
ductiveness of labor and consequent
wealth of America. A foreign traveller
in our Union, not So much Of the signs OF
accommodating wealth, though nndiag eve
ry mork OF individual well-being, is dis
posed 10 underrate the national wealth.
But il must be borne in mind that the
larger proportion OF the
wealth of every country is produced each
year. The profits of the animal labor III
America are immense. We have always
here that the capacity oil this
country TO bear taxation and thus pay
debts, could hardly be measured. with
a wise system of taxation falling especial
" upon luxuries and large objects; a
steady accumulation by fixed Legislature
of sinking fund each year, aud the
raising money for the war as little as
possible by currencyi and as much as
possible by loans, we shall bear even
Two thousand millions of deDt Os easily us
poorer countries in Europe bear thsr
hundreds of thousands. The wnoie peo-
pie own the debt. They ara willing TO
pay any thing for their nationality. They
are rich enough TO endure immense taxa
lion. Who can doubt both their fnan-
eial ability and their final financial sue
cessl