The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-12-31
CHI A R L sTON
THURSDAY MORNING. DECEMBER 81, 1858
The City Tax Bill.

The Tax bill presented in City Cohuci
on Tuesday night, and to be acted on at th'
next meeting of that body, will, naturally
, be carefully studied by every class of tax
payers. Some important changes have beer
made in the bill, and these will be best seer
by comparing it with the Tax bill of 1868.
The tax on real estate is raised from two
dollars 10 two and half dollars, payable il
March, June and November.
The tax on gross sales of goods, wares
and merchandise, the tax on sales at auc'
tion, the tax on the gross receipts of al
tavern keepers and liquor dealers, and the
tax on the gross receipts of printing Offices,
newspapers and publishing houses, is re-
duced from seventy, Eve cents to fifty cents
son,the hundred dollars.
~ The tax on the gross receipts of telegraph
companies is raised from one dollar 10 three
dollars upon each one hundred dollars.
The tax On the street railway is raised
from two dollars 10 three dollars, and new
tax of FIVE dollars per month i. imposed
upon each horse railroad CIR.
The tax on express companies stands at
three dollars on each ore hundred dollars of
gross receipts.
A new tax of twenty five cents on every
hundred dollars is imposed upon all sales of
cotton; also, new tax of fifty cents on
every hundred dollars of ell freight and
passenger lists of all steamers and sailing
vessels.
The tax on the receipts of cotton presses
is raised from two dollars to three dollars.
The tax on the gross receipts of hotels,
and public ealing and boarding houses, on
the receipts of livery stable keepers, and
on the sale of horses a2d mules, is reduced
from one dollar to fifty cents on every hun
dred dollars.
The following taxes stand unchanged:
Coaches audfour wheel carriages, three dol
lars per month; or if drawn by one horse or
mule, LWO uoliuIo. iWo WheeA eoiAA"6Se,
one dollar and fifty cents. On gross in
comes from the pursuit of any faculty, pro-
fession or employment, three dollars on
every hundred. On the value Of oil in
vestments and securities, fifty cents on the
hundred dollars. On dogs, two dollars
Gross receipts CT commercial agencies, three
! dollars. On all commissions Of factors and
others, three dollars, and the same on re-
ceipts of insurance companies and gas COM
panies. On each horse or mule, one dollar
per month. On all retail dealers, huckstcrs
ard barber shops, two and o half dollars
per month. On all goods sold b. persons
not residents, three dollars or every hun
dred. On sales CT stocks, bonds and other
securities, "at auction or ct private sale, :"
twenty-five cents.
The capitation tax Of two dollars of 1868
is omitted, as, under the State Constitution,
no such tax may be imposed excep! for edu-
cational purposes.
The provisions for collecting taxes and
enforcing their payment, and 10 provide for
new assessment, are the SINE es in the
bill of 1868
The foregoing comparisons will give the
public an idea of what the Committee on
Ways and Means propose. There is no
doubt that their propositions will be warmly
discussed, and it is probable that some of
the taxes which they recommend may oe
changed in amount; but they had hard
duty before them, and have labored faith
fullv>to do what was best for ell classes Of
citizens No one will deny that it was of
the first importance TO pave the way to re-
suming the payment Of interest on the city
debt in April n1xt; and.his being admitted,
it became impossible to avoid some change
in the ratio of taxation: We are not pre-
pared to say that the bill, as introduced by
the committee, cannot be amended with ad-
vantage, but re are satisfied that the COM
mittee, ami Council at large, have no other
object in view than to re-establish the credit
of the city and to make taxation as light as
is consistent with the payment of the inter-
est on our debt, and The administration of
our Municipal affairs in an efficient and
economical manner.