The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-06-14
COLUMBIA. i
Thursday Morning, June Il, 1865.

N--
thursday Morning, June II. 1855.
IneSapafttics ia the Revenue Laws
Among the Washington items.s pub
: 6ahed insTuesday's issue Of the Phas:
3fe, were noticed some decisions OF
the nmiasioner.e94~Intefnai hes
venue, which deserve some notice, RS
being, in our opinion, unequal and
unjust. '-'ses. = s--r--''---
One of these decisions is, that pro-
fits, or income, rather, derived from
stocks or other unstable securities
: viii he regarded as .1Soed incomes.
This is manifestly unjust, the income
from such source being precarious,
: and, in no sense, can be regarded as
fixed. The income from a similar in-
vestment in real estate, bonds, lots,
houses, &C., are "fixed," and being,
as must be assumed, generally in
sared and protected, are fairly liable
to q fixed rate of taxation ss perma-
nent incomes. The rentals of real
estates, in n series Of years, fuctu-
ates very little, while the income from
other sources is liable, by any revul-
sion in politics or trade, to become
nought-nothing.
But the second decision, to which
we particularly desire to call atten-
ton, is that of taxing salaries as
income from business. This is the
most onerous tax that could be in
aicted on the mass of the people. AS
we understand it, the term ''salaries"
embraces wages for labor of all kinds,
whether for clerical duties or the
weekly pay of iourneymen in any
trade, craft or calling. The injustice
Of this must be apparent. There is
not, in the whole country, a salaried
man land especially is this true at the
present time of deprecated remune-
ration and high prices for all the ne
cessaries of hfe,) who receives more
for his labor than is barely sufficient
to provide food and raiment for his
family. The employer pleads the
stringency of the money market and
the duh state of business as his justi-
iication for reducing salaries to the
starving point, while the poor sala-
ried drudge has to pay from fifty to
one hundred per cent. higher for
every article he consumes than what
he had to pay when salaries were
equally as high; in fact, higher than
they are at present.
LIS not n tax on such u slender in :
come burden that is unequal com
pared to that which is derived from
business? The merchant makes. we
say, for the sake of illustration, in a
small business, 81, 800; the indus
trious clerk or toiling mechanic
makes the same amount; the former
has his stock always on hand upon
which he is trading; the latter's
stock may be annihilated by sick
ness or lack of employment. The
former buys his supplies at whole
sale or reduced prices; the latter must
pay for the same that price, with the
reta iler's profits added.
Ha@, in addition to this inequality.
there remains another consideration
to show that this tax is unequal. The
only guarantee the clerk or mechanic
has for support, should he be stricken
with illness, is his ability to save n
slender surplus to lay by, as the or
dinary saying is, ''for q rainy day"
But on his narrow income this tax
is inflicted, and swallows up that
which might be otherwise laid aside
for the contingencies Of want of en-
ployment or sickness. In short, such
a principle of taxation is wrong, and
bears that inequality on its face which
tends to make the rich richer and the
poor poorer-an unfortunate admi-
nistration of the laws for the pcople
of any country.
The whole principle Of taxing i1.-
1llstry and labor is based upon erro-