The Portland daily press., 1869-07-21
The Income Tex.

The Income T"x'
After one more payment the Jaw providing
for the income tax expires by us own hmta-
ton. We think rhe country does not desire
its longer continuance, but would prefer that
the amount realized BY means of it should be
raised in; some other way, y s~sts,s.st,,.. -,
A tax upon incomes must from the very ma.
ture of the case be odious, because it has to do
with mems private affairs, which for various
reasons il is not always pleasant to have dis
closed. Practic lily it is unfair, unjust and in
equitable in its operations. Men, from whose
spiritual anatomies, conscience has beenleft
out, find no trouble in evading its provisions
and astonishing their neighbors by showing i
how extravagantly and even luxurlantly they
can live upon an income of $1,000 per year;
while honest men who can afford almost any \
thing better than to deceiye, pay not only their ]
own share of the public debt, but p part Of
their less honest neighbors, also.
II is unquestionably true that there are in
stances fwhere men report and pay a larger
amount than their income al amounts 1 to.
but they do il ordinarily from motives no less
dishonest than those which move other men to
represent their income less than tit actually is.
Perhaps they are in trade and desire credit,
and regard this method the best adapted to-
strengthen,it. Perhaps they are owing money,
and wish the term of payment extended, or
want to borrow, and adopt This method as
best calculated to deceive their victims as TO
their resources and means of payment. Per-
haps in very few instances the contemplate
meanness and desire Of being thought tobe rich
is the object sought. These cases of overpay-
meut however, bear no proportion either in
number'or amountto the cases where the goy-c
eminent is wrongsd out of its, dues, by mens
whodo not mean tos comply with the previsr,
ions of the law. Nor does the fault lie with the
revenue officer, Their duty in the premises is
ordinarily performed with as much Of faithful
ness as the nature Of the case and the infrma-
ties Of human nature will allow The dif1icul-s
ty consists hainly in the impossibiIity Of prov
ing that the sworn statements are incorrect
and luntruthful A man may live. i'm am ele-ii
CANT mansion keep servants. ride in a coach
and have not only the reputation but every 4
outward appearance Of being rich, and yet if
he swears be is in receipt of an annual income
very much less than is necessary to support
his style ofiying. and has not vsable property
known to yield returns, we know OF no method
to get at a true statement Of the case And
experience has demonstrated the utter irfipracis
ticability Of making the operation Of the law
equitable and just. H5 cpem0 sasi'sws i3.3as3u
The bulk of some mems income is derived
from interest on notes of hand, government,
state, town and railroad bonds. II. indispos-
ed to show their hand voluntarily it is next 10
impossible td1compel a true exhibit. se3iie', ~
Human ingenuity is taxed to the utmost for
tn v wit
the terms of theilaw. A man having $4,000 in
vesteaso as to pay him6 per cent? has an in7s
come therefrom of $4,000 per annum. The
payment of the income tag would require $l00
and 1.-The is Gerry anxious to eyade its, payment
he divides his property over and above twhat.
viii bring himoin $1,000, among his maiden sis
tersand Enthusiastically members of his fam
lily, usually retaining custody of the documents
fromfear his relations may lose them. Thus
the income Of nesingle member is in excess of
the $1,000 per annum This is only one way of
avoiding the taxsscores Of other ways, many of
themjnfnitely more ingenious and, some far
more reprehensible are undoubtedly in, vogue (
Upon no other hypothesis can the peculiari-
ties of the income list be explained 49,, ge-,.
Amani in receipt Of $500, whose code. of
morals is not very severe thinks it rather hard
to pay$s0 to government whenspother whose
receipts he has every, reason, to. believe are
double or treble that amount pays nothing. -
The RESULT is that men lose confidence in, their
neigAbors honesty, BECOME less honestr them
selves and grad nally the public conscience be-
comes debaqehed.i The doctrine that, cheap
ing the governmsnt involves no, sin is cheer
fuy embraced by many who shield, them /,
selves behind the bad example of men who
ought to 3knYw and DO better,, ~ 80 ii
That the exigences of the treasury are such
as to require the amount -deriyable from an in
come tax is undeniable- that men in receipts
of more than enough to provide for, the neces-
sites of themselves and families, ought cheer
fully and honestly to pay the small tax impos-
ed BY government is a proposition none win
deny, but the Rgly1 fact remains that it is not
only easy to seHade, its payment but in hun
dreds and thousands Of cases it actually is evad-,
ed, and thelaw thereby rendered very unequal
in its operations, 81. -. e
The people will be better pleased to have
the law cease altogether and the lack supplied
ina manner less liable to make the upright
pay penalty for being honest, and allowing
smaller, premium to the dishonesty, Of rogpes.
fohucais kf,,, .f..,s- q :. =
Advices from Nashville indicate with GER
taipty the, election of Senter, the Conservative
candidate for Governor of Tennessee. Andy
johnson arrived there yesterday, Although
he says but little about his oN n aspirations,
there is little doubt that he has a sharp look /
out LOT the, United States Senatorship. Should
there be conservative majority in the Legis-
latnre, as is not unlikely, he viii be likely to ]
have Emerson Etheridge and Bailey Peyton
as rivals for the place. uO-'A1''s-'7s
The New York Herald says that there are
threatenings OF a serious row and fracture ID ID
Tammany. The German Democratic element
has, within the past few years, grown 70 almost 1
oyeEshadowing proportions, Itfeels itself con-
hdent Of victory in any political contest it may
think proper to wage upon its own account,
even against the great Tammany, aynasty aud
power itself There are at present, says the
Herald, dunmistakable, appearances Of a COM /
ing rupture, The German Democracy are pre-
pairing list Of the political disabilities under
which they say they have hithertola bored, and
are drawing up a bill Of rights which they de- /
mand shall be con eded to them. ~ -. soy
There are, several million reasons Why Asa
facker should be Governor Of Pennnssy lvaniaa,,
DuJ tney are all doliafs.M- trF't' shD 10 e4tnbcj
Hon. Samuel shellabarger has pgg1ses tad his
credentials as minister fro N the United srasss
~ ~ al, asa hoe 90 Il tea apsss
the duties Of his office. s'nkishS s'i bne ,d'nof]
Gubernatorial candidates are On the decline
in minnesota. General John r. Avefiii, Cow
ernof DonneIly, and Hon F. f. sskandfew
have all declined. 4o.sg 99Fora ic3iIsE3hy der
Senator Thurman, Or Ohio, viii start f6f
California very soon, and he expects to meet
General Rosecrans, and officially notify him OF
his nomination for Governor a.eiiue 50, omst
Ex-senator Buckaiew, president of fHed
Democratic Convention at Harrisburg, Asadd
his pocket picked Of 500 BY some lightlfheer-
ed Democrat while in attend ance. nTcs ssfain
The Wilmington journal characterizes itlas
"a SANDER upon the people Of aNotthq Cafogiu
ma to say that they wefs sdraggedineo tlleg re-
beiiion and never gave it hearty support. red
1'..st ana Tn and Other Stories, a char,nibgo1
~ written, and made up book for Gun youuns
folks, ut for the choicest library. Published
by Henry Hoyt Boston, and for sale by Howl
Fogg & Breed. Sssas ssglg sdf re 5sol
The same booksellers alse send us. from War |
rem & Blakeley, Boston, The Storyof Wslssqp,il
the Silent and The Netherland Wdrldpy, MART