Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1867-08-12
pon1oY OF INrnaNALrAxAr1oN

Excise taxes, remarks the N. Y. Post,
fall alternately upon the consumer OF
the commodity, and are more or less
onerous according to the policy of the
levy. The amount to be raised for the
service of the government being fixed,
the policy of the levy involves the sslse-
ton Of the subjects, the equality or inc
quality of the rate charged upon them;
the time of the eollection-that is,
whether at the date of production, at
the date Of the first sale, or by distribu-
ton of the total charge intended among
all the sales occurring in the route of
the article to consumption; and, Incl
dentslly the convenience, the security
and the cost of eollection-all of which
are material to the perfection of the sys-
tenn.
In all countries exemption of income
under some fixed amount ia allowed.
In England, income not exceeding one
hundred pounds sterling, and, in the
United States, six hundred dollars, at
FIRST, and now one thousand dollars, are
exempted for either or both of two good
reasons-oppreisiyeness to the poor tax
payer, and the d~isproportion Of the cost
Of collection to the revenue derived by
the Treasury. England, upon q large
experience, has disburdensd her schoa
ule Of excuses of all but ten titles;
four of these are sugar, spirits, malt
and chicory, the other ak are railroads,
hackney coaches, stage carriages, race
horses, licenses and game certificates;
and these yielded a revenue Of about
eighty-six millions of dollars in the
year 1864, at an expense Of four per
cent. for collection.
From stamp duties are received forty
four and a half millions Of dollars, at
two and . half per cent. collection cost.
The land tax and taxes assessed upon
offices, pensions, houses, servants, pri-
vste carriages, horses, dogs, ETC., yield
ed fifteen millions OF dollars, at four
and shree-qusrters per cent. cost of col
lection and the property and income
tax produced ~ffty-two and a half mil
lions, at a cost Of two per cent. The
average cost Of collection upon the
whole Of the inland taxes amounted to
three and a half per cent, aud the Gus
toms, which yielded about n hundred
and ten millions, cost three aud one
tenth per cent.
Three hundred and siIty-6ve millions
of revenue were raised that year, out Of
q very small number of the products Of
industry and subjects of trade. In
selecting these the Government has done
what it could to find the points of con-
Ausnce Of all the diversified objects, and
taxes them at once whore they l~ocalize
themselves. All the labor, active capi-
tai and consumption Of the realm are
thus, in a comparatively simple way,
and with much certainty, caught and
laid under contribution.
A national revenue, so large as this,
added to ninety millions Of local taxes,
could neither DO borne nor managed
under a system like ours, with q sched-
uls Of two hundred and Fifty items under
the head of "articles and occupations
subject to excise tax" alone. The index
TO the Annual Report Of the Commits
sionsr of Internal Revenue" is the lar
gest and most varied inventory of goods
and chsttels ever seen, looking like an
invoice of all the goods, wares and
merchandise upon the markets of the
country, and very suggestive of a wor-
rying inquisision, an immense array of
officials, proporsionate collection, no
little expense of conscience in report
ing, and 9 terrible duplication, triplica-
ton and indefinite multiplication Of
assessments upon the same article in
course Of preparation for the last sale
before consumption.
This thing must be amended after
Hamlet's plan of reforming the over
acted plays of his time.
The selection of subjects has yet sno-
thor aspect. In England the taxes on
consumption are ssvsnty-one per cent.
Of the total to twsnty-uine per cent.
upon property. In France, forty-6ye to
ffty-fye. In Belgium, th~irty-nine upon
consumption TO siIty-one upon property.
In the United States, our national taxes
upon consumption are in higher proper
ton ever than in England, for our law
embraces no land tax. The resulting
inequality of the burden is, however,
less with US, because wealth is so much
better distributed among the consumers.
England makes some show of equity
in tho maintenance of the general in
como tax, supplies from ten to fourteen
per cent. of the total revenue, varying
with the oxigsnciss Of the treasury, (the
rate has varied in the last twelve years
from t~wenty-four to Eve pence on the
pouud,) but the character of this tax,
after all the improvements of a long OK
perisnce in Great Britain, is still held to
deserve the description given to it in
1875, by Lord JOHN RusHELL,-"In-
equality, voIhtion, and fraud are iuhe-
rent" Necessity makes its only claim
to continuance there, it is greatly more
vicious here, and as much more unman-
agcabls.
SOME time ago q "sink hole'' occurred
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