The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-12-30

OoCNotoIy C8ob6dO6N, III Lu0 COuo0 VI
his Treasury Report, takes occasion to re-
commend "tax on sales" The recon-
mendation is received with great favor in
Congress, whose financial talent is repre-
sented by THADDEus STEVENS, Chairman
of the Committee on Ways and Means,
and propounder of the gold bill which has
80 lately been squelched. The Admins
tration having run the rounds of all fnan-
cial sbsurdities, is now exhuming the bur-
led carcasses of European theories, and
galvanizing them into q semblanoe of life
for domestic service. The effect of s'tax
upon sales" is thus described by ADAM
SMITH and JOHN STUART Mil, two of the
ablest writer's upon political economy:
Adam Smith ("Wealth of Nations" book v,
chap. ~ describes the Spanish alcavala as
"a tax upon the sale of every sort of property,
whether movable or immOvable: and it is re.
peated every time the property is sold" After
describing its operations he goes on to say:
ut is to the dlcauald, accordingly, that Ustar-
its imputes the ruin of the manufactures of
Spain. He might have imputed to it, likewise,
the declension of agriculture, it being imposed
not only upon manufactures, but upon the rude
produce of the land"
I'm the kingdom of Naples there is similar
tax upon the value of all contracts, and conse-
quently upon that of all contracts of sale. 1t
Is both lighter than the Spanish tax, and the
greater part of the towns and parishes are al
ia lieu of it. They levy this composition in
what manner they please, generally In q way
which gives no interruption to the interior
commerce of the place. The Neapolitan tax,
therefore, is not near so ruinous as the Span
ish one"
The. fact that this tax was generally
commuted in Naples, is strongly practi-
cal testimony to its annoyance and injus-
tice. But being intrinsically bad, COM
mutation only mitigated the evil. And we
are expected to put on these cast-off
financial old clothes of the most benighted
despotisms Of Europe. When Spain (now
getting prosperouO began to admit the
improved ideas of more enlightened ma
tiors, she abandoned the absurd tax on
sales. So long as it prevailed, Spain did
not possess even bank, in the modern
sense of the term; so impervious was she
to sound financial ideas.
John Stuart Mill ("Political Economy, -
book v, chap. s. has these remarks: "Of
taxes on contracts, the most important are
those on the transfer of property; chiefly on
purchases and sales. Taxes on the sale of con-
sumable commodities are simply taxes on those
commodities, and are paid by the consumer.
If the attempt were made to tax all purchases
and sales, which, however abused. was for
centuries the law of Spain, the tax if it could
be enforced, would be equivalent to tax on
all commodities, and would not affect prices
if levied from the sellers, it would be tax on
profits; if from buyers, tax on consumption:
and neither class could throw the burden upon
the other"
Our farmers are already receiving pay
for their commodities in exchanges which
materially reduce their profits. When in
addition to this they are obliged to sub
init to "tax upon sales " we may look
for declension Of agriculture.