The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-01-30
.Report orthe Rexenue commissIoners

/ NEW YORK, Jan. 29.@The official
preliminary report of the Revenue
/ commissioners published. The Com
mission has adopted the plan of taking
Imp specifically for investigation of the
sources OF revenue which their own ex-
| perience and the experience Of other
countries have indicated as likely to be
most, productive under taxation, and
most capable of sustaining its burdens.
The result of these Investigations they
propose to submit inlthe form of indie
pendent and special reports. The Com
missionerS complain of the Imperfect
\ and incorrect statistics furnished them
/ by the Government bureaus, and the
great difficulty experienced In conduct
| their Investigations, owing TO the abb
normal and disturbed condition Of eve
ry branch of trade and industry since
| 1861. The frequent alteration Of the
4 tariff, and the indignation of the inter-
nal revenue system, many branches OF
trade and industry have been cnrtailed
during this period, from 50 to 20 per
| cent. Every advance made on the tar
i If and on the excise, had been antiel-t
\ pated by every class of importers, deal-
ers, manufacturers and spectators, so
that the Government has not tested
single one of its legitimate sources OF
revenue. .s.
| The commission estimate that on the
LIST of July, 1864, the date when the adj
vance in the tax on distilled spirits of
| from sixty cents to one dollar and fifty
cents per gallon took effect, there were
made and stored in anticipation ofthis
advance, at least forty millions of gal
Ions, or a quantity sufficient to supply
the country for at least a year. In an
ticipation OF. the tax on. cigars 1t is esti-
mated that from 40 to so millions were
manufactured in the city of. New York
alone The stock of spices imported
into the country previous to the advance
TO- N1V
to nearly two years. supply, while In
the case OF the insignificant article of
matches, on which the tax is only one
cent per bunch, the stock accumulated
in anticipation of the tax was SO large
that it has not even been exhausted.
The commission then gives an acr
count of the reform system OF Great
Britain and France, and the per cent
age yielded by each class to the revenue.
The commission strongly condemns our
present system ofyreyenue, and regards
its ditfnsiveness MS one of its greatest
imperfections. Asystem OF taxation so
difuse as the present one. necessarily
entails system OF duplication of taxes,
which in turn leads to undue enhance
ment of prices, and decrease both ofpro-
duction and consumption, and conse-
quently of wealth and restriction of ex
portation of foreign comm rece, and
larger increase of the machine
ry and expense of the revenue col
lection. It cannot ba speak too
strongly of the injurious influence of
this duplication of taxation upon the
industry of the country, the influence
of the duplication of the taxes in sus-
tanning the prices is also, in the opinion
of the Commission far greater than
those not conversant with the subject |
generally estimate the price of gold |
and OF the national currency, made at /
once to approximate and the present |
Pow Iyof tom FfNs nnnhpn0-
ed, it would be impossible for the prices
of most products of manufacturing in
dustry to return to any thing like their
former level. In suggesting remedies |
for this evil the report says in respect to |
the evils arising from excessive dupli- /
cation of taxes under the internal |
Revenue system, and from lack of
equalization between the tariff and the
excise, a remedy, in the opinion of the |
commission; should be sought for in
such a srevision of the present Internal
Revenue system. rs will -lool-to- an -en-I
tire exemption of the manufacturing |
industry of the United States from all |
direct taxation on distilled and foment-
ed liquors, tobacco and possibly for
other articles excepted. This the COIN
mission are unhesitatingly prepared to
recommend. But the change recon-
mended should be made gradually and
according as experience satisfies us of
our ability to substitute other and less !
Objectionable forms of taxation ade- |
quate to produce a revenue correspond |
ing TO that relinquished. As to the man |
neE and extent to which reduction nIayil
be carried out and at the same time Sc
cure to the Government a revenue ade- |
quate to its expenses, the report says:
AS the average OF the present tariff Is |
understood to be upwards of 40 per
cent. upon the invoiced value OF those |
impOrtatiOnS, upon which duties are
levied, the commission, after making
all due allowance for a possible reduc-
ton of some duties and an increase of
the free list, think it safe to estimate the |
amount of revenue derivable from GUS |
toms for the fiscal year 1867 to be at
least one hundred and thirty millions
of dollars. The commission recon-
Inends that the tax on distilled spirits |
be reduced to one dollar per gallon, and |
that the existing rate of taxation on |
fomented liquors be neither increased
or diminished. Great pains have been
taken by the commission to devise some |
mode of preventing fraud in the collec- |
ton of taxes on these articles. The at |
tention of the commission has been
especially given to the cotton product
of the United States as a source of rev.
enue. As a RESULT Of their investigae
ton the commission recommends that
a tax of five cents per pound be levied
on and afteri July LIST, 1866, upon all cot |
ton the product of the United States,
ana that the same ne collected OF mum
ufacturerS at the place of consumptions
and of merchants at the port of export
upon all foreign shipments.
In respect to tobacco the commission
are unanimously OF opinion that tax
should not belaid upon leaf, and wish
an amendment OF the present law, and
with the exhaustion ofthe stock IN the
country, made in anticipation of the
tax which is now nearly effected, the
commission believe that the govern
ment may safely rely upon an annual
revenue from this source, for immedt- |
ate action, of at least SIS, 000, 900. Com |
mission think an income tax Will pro- |
baby be sustained with less detrinIent
to the country than any other formal |
taxation. The discrimination at pres
emit in rates levied on incomes under
and in excess of s. 900 is, however, un- |
just, being in fact a tax on the results Of
successful industry and business enter
prise, and the commission recommend |
that the discrimination be abrogated, |
and the rates equalized, and that in fu-
ture the assessment on incomes ofS1 900 |
be exempted from taxation, and that in |
assessing incomes that no allowance be |
made for house rent; or at least that |
amount allowed to be deducted Torrent |
should not in any case be allowed |
to exceed $500. For the future, with the |
changes above recommended, the COM
mission believe that the government |
may safely rely on an annual revenue
from this source of about fifty millions |
nf d0llarS From the aHo.fae on hanks |