Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1866-04-11

AsSfSnUS fStskeS-AIeltSE IFOEh
Assessor Page.
Assessors OFFICE, FIRST DIST ILLINOIS,
CHICAGO April s. 1866
To lie Editor the Chicago Republican:
notice in your report on the question, whether
shippers of grain subject to the license tax of 81
per 81, 600 you state that the committee appointed
to wait on me stated that the decisions submitted did
not bear directly the subject under consideration,
and further give their opinion that the subject
had never been properly submitted to tie authorities.
How far this may be true, may be judged from the
following decisions and letters bearing upon this sub
ject:
The question in point is this: whether grain
dealer in this city forwarding produce to Eastern
points is subject to the license tax of 81 per 81 900 on
his shipments to Eastern markets as well as upon
sales made here
Under decision 15s, dated Washington, August S,
1865, will be found the following: 1t is a familiar
maxim OF the law that whatever a person does
through his agent he does himself and when dealer
his special agent the sale is none the less made by
himself simply because the law imposes certain obi
cations and duties upon the particular class of agents
which he has seen ut to employ. 1t is objected that
under this construction of the law two-fold license
tax is imposed upon the sales of wholesale dealers
made through brokers and auctioneers. The same
objection might, however. be made, and with equal
plausi bilty, where goods and merchandise pass by
sale through the hands of several different dealers
each of whom Is required to have a license based
upon the amount of his sales 1t must be held, there
fore, that the sales which wholesale dealers make
through brokers auCtlOneerS, TO be included
in the amount of annual sales upon which the license
of such dealer is based; and that the license of the
wholesale dealer does not relieve the brokers and
auctioneers through whom he may make portion of
his sales from their liability to taxation under Sec
tions 50 and 80 of the act Of June 81, lS64."
WIN. ORToH, Commi Sioner.
About the time this decision was received, several
shippers from adjacent towns and States called upon
me to see what their duties were under The law The
Assessors IN their respective localities had called
upon them for license tax on shipments of grain
made by Ihem to CHICAGO commission merchants, the
Chicago commission merchant having charged the
tue he paid here back to the country shipper. By
their request wrote the following letter. which it
seems very plain TO as well the shipments
made to the Eastern markets by our dealers:
Copy
Assessors OFFICE lsT DIsrRIor ill.,,
CHICAGO, Nov. q, 1865. !
Hon. e. A Rollins Commissioacr, Washington, d. C.:
Dear Sir Our commission merchants pay license
tax of 81 per 81 900 on all their sales Their custom
ers in the country towns ship their grain, NC, to
them for sale the commission merchant here charges
the country shipper his commission for selling. also
the Government tax of 81 per 100. In these cases
the country shippers liable to License tax on the
same sale; Decision 15S does not to cover this
point here the transactions between two dealers
and not dealer and broker Please advise me.
Very respectfully, PETER PAGE, Assessor
Copy of Answer.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE or INTERNAL REVENUE,
WAsHINGToY, Nov'r %, 1865.
Peter Page Esq, assessor, Chicago, III.
Your letter OF Nov. q is received The inquiry in
your letter appears to be whether dcaterr who sells
through another dealer should be required to include
annual sales upon which the license of such dealer
is based.
l reply: That when dealer sells through an agent
whether that agent be another dealer or broker he
should include sales thus made in the amount of his
annual sales upon which his license is based.
Very respectfully, D. c. WHITMAN,
Deputy Commissioner.
From the above correspondence it will be seen that
the ruling in question did not emanate from any
Office but from the Commissioners of Internal Revc-
nue., and when question arises upon the conStruc-
tion of the law, il i cannot be clearly decided by me
to the satisfaction of the public the questions sub
committee of grain merchants that waited unon me
yesterday felt that their case had not been fairly and
fully placed before the Commissioner, and requested
that should suspend tho asseSs emit of the tax until
they could, through their committee, have Q per
sonal interview with the Commissioner to which
readily assented. as have feeling in the matter
whatever except to administer the law as construed
By Ily superiOrs.
sm, very respectfully
PETER PAGE,
Assessor 1st Dist, Ill.