The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-02-20
Our Internal Revenue Great Sources Of
Income.

luCOmos
From he Times
Looking to the returns OF internal revenue for
the past three years, il may be sscertalncd with
tolerabe certainty to what great sources we shall
henceforth have 10 look for meeting the fiscal
,exigencies OF the Government.
From tobacco uncudiDg cigars) we got, In
the year ending june last, over eleven million
dollars, against about one fourth that amount in
1868. But considerable as this increase is, the
returns are little more than one.third the amount
which tbs British Exchequer derives from the
same source. Distilled and iermented liquors
produced, last year. less than than twenty mill
lions against over thirty millions in l964-a fact
in great part due, no doubt to the enormous
over-productiOn of the lastnamed year, caused
by the anticipated increase OF duty. That IN
crease was ifom 60 cents to ST. and $2 tor the
first and second half of 1866, respectively. A
much smaller propo1tionate advance in the
British excise duty in 1861 resulted in a decrease
of production TO the tune of nearly FIVE million
gallons Of spirits, leaving but mere fraction Of
gain to the Treasury from an increase OF duty
from eight to ten shillings sterling gallon.
In 1864 we produced no less than 85, ,295, 39l
gallons of distilled spirits or about four tunes as
much as was produced within the United King
dom in 1851. 1t IS not lncomprehenslble, there
fore, that in 1865 our production should have
fallen to less than seventeen million gallons,
and that as a consequeLc ce, the revenue returns
from this source in the latter year we're barely
two.thirds those of 1864. The Commissioner
come. He says our markets are no " exhausted
of spirits distilled before taxation, or when they
were subjected only to the earlier rates go
cents and 60 cents q gallon). And the supplies
for consumption must henceforth pay the high
duty Ii this consumption should come up to
the average of Great Britain, the gross returns
from this source alone Will fall little short Of
fifty million dollars year. From no interest
could such sum be dra awn so legitmately. The
question is simply one of the possibility of en-
forcing the law With all the perfection otheir
machinery in Great Britain, it appears that there
we're no fewer than 345T illicit Installations there
during the past year We can Judge from this
what attempted frauds our own revenue officers
will have to meet if the Government is not to be
swindled right and LETT
From stamps a fair return was got last year,
and probably no single tax was less felt The
gross amount for the fiscal year was Sll, l62 392
When we come TO get the full benefit oil stamp
duty 1t ought to produce at least $25OOO,0 900 an
nually, q large portion OF which increase might
surely be used to mitigate the terrible burdens
of the income tax. The latter produced, for the
year closing in June last $40, ,567, ,350-an amount
which ought never to be exceeded until some
means OF adjusting the impost is found which
shall distinguish between permanent and termi-
nable or uncertain income.
Iron and Steel in their different forms pro.
duced 10 less than 9,2l9,s 1903, or about three
times as much as the returns OF 1864. Refined
petroleum and coal oil brought $3,047, 2l2. The
receipts from licenses were nearly doubled within
the year, an increase due in considerable part to
the addition to the list OF dealers subject to the
duty. The returns for 1865 reached the respect
able sum OF Sl2,59S,68l. -
We ought-when things have assumed their
normal condlton-to be able to meet our obli-
cations and provide for the public service with
out increasing the internal revenue burdens be-
yond those of Great Britain. The British
inland revenue tax now amounts to about two
hundred million dollars. This amount we could
raise ty legitimate excise on spirits and to-
bacco, by lair stamp and license duty, by a
moderate income tax, and by few minor i'm
posts. 1t is comfortable in one sense to see our
way to raise an annual income OF four or five
hundred million dollars, and thus leave poste
rity no heavy burden OF debt. But growing
familiarity with the science OF imposing taxes will
button as will not overburden and paralyze oul
pr esent industries