Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1865-05-10
Farmers Income Tax.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
OHce of Internal Rerenus.
Journal,
Washington, March l3, Isl


SIR: Your letter Of arch Sth, in regard
to including in farmers returns OF produce
sold in 1864, that portion Of such produce
which was raised in 1868, and taxed IN
come for the year, is received.
reply. that the Act of June 80, 1861, re-
cuires the whole amount Of produce sold
within me year TO be returned as income FOR
the year The fact that any part Of such pro-
ducc WIS IA ised and taxed as income in any
previous year, does not exempt SUCH produce
from taxation as income for the year when
sold. It IS tue that in cases similar TO that
mentioned IN your letter, where particular
u7-oauct * considered, two income taxes Will
uc obtained from tae Same in one.
Bat this Is an apparent, rather than a real
injustice. For, while certain products, not
raised in 1864, are returned income for
that wear, other products which trere raised
ia that wear viii be omitted. And taking in
70 account ali the years IN which income has
been or Will he taxed, br these two methods
the amount Of produce sold III 1852, and
which. having been raised in previous wears,
was not taxed. and the amount OF produce
raised n tlc LIST year Of tax and uusuid. and
amount Of produce subjected to two income
taxes Allowing the aggregate crop to be ON
"a .t average the same, year by year, it Is cvi-
IDENTIFY iust that the produce taxed each year
should equal in amount that Of each other
wear. And II, in 1854, only such products
are taxed rs were raised and sold in that
yea. it Is plain that the tax for that year
viii be assessed upon only a part of years
produce :aassuch IS TIE whole OF any crop
u seldom SOFA Within the year when raised.
Suppose. for gx1mT!e, the cyera-c income
of 4, from the produce Of his farm, to be
5000, and that lie uniformly sells a certain
proportion Of Lis crop, rs one forth or one
half The same year. and the remainder the
following year. Then if tie rule requiring
him 70 make returu Of the entire crop raised
had continued IN force, \ would have sold
three i0urths Of crop III 1882, which, hay
( Jag been raised II 1861, would escape taxa
ton. But iDasmuch as the yearly product IS
+ the same the income Tx Of y IS uniform,
aaI no Injustice appears srinst the taxpayer
I or lie Revenue.
+ And # the pr, sent rEIe. requiring the pro
Gucc sol{ to be returned as income, had pre-
vailed from the list, although y would hav"
paid tax ON three fJurths of the crop Of 1861,
vet as = like propo ton Of the last crop viii
escape taxation, il aPpe"rs again that neither
the taxpayer nor the Revenue IS dctraudgd-
Yet II is plain that under either rgic, as in
force for the whole timc, or under the change
If ono rule for the other, there viii be. and
w.aId have been, cases OF hardship, arising
/ I. onI the fact that farmers do not uuifovmi y
/ sell or keep on hand fXsI proportion 81
! each wears produce.
I Now. urder the two rules in force, before
7 or after June 30. sol, \ viii have paid tor
I S62 au income tax on one cntiTe crop-thai
/ raised in 1867 IN 1868 his income tax wai
also ON the entire crop of the year. In 1864
. lie will also paw tax on the amount Of an en-
+ tire crop. one forth Of which viii have bee:
raised IN 1851 and the rem liuderi in 1868, bu
sid IN 1854 The income tax for 1860 Wi.
also be assessed upon the value of one cntjr,
crop: So that i'm 40 year VIII he be taxed lol
gn amount greater than the income Of ia.
wear Yet Il will be true that three fourth.
81 the crop raised in 1868 Will have paid two
iacCmc taxes
And this second tax Is due from the flc
that n .ither like proportion Of the crnr
Sold il 1852 escaped t,xation because raiss,
ia 1851. or the same proportion Of tn croI
81 che last year Of tax viii escape, beclus,
uasylj according as we consider ;He forme
r4Ic or the latter to have prevailed during th,
whole period.
Therefore, in the case mentioned in you
letter, the produce returned in 1863, ut a val
uaJipu Of 81. 1870 and sold in 1864 for s. 900
-,u-l also be returned as income for S64, a
S2,eoo
Very respectfully,
tSigucj) Jo>EPu J. l.EwIs, Commissioner.
Csc T. CorELhNE. Esq.
Assessor Ioih District Ind, Goshen, Ind.