The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-12-21

/
wise consolidation of the tobacco tax at
at 80 cents per pound.
| Much Of the fraud above referred to is
effected through the instrumentaity of
peddlers. He, therefore, recommends that
every person who sells, or offers to sell
manufactured tobacco, snuff, or cigars
from wagons in the manner Of pedlers,
travelling from place to place, be requ,r.
ed to pay special tax of $15, $25,or $50.
according as be travels with one, two, or
more horses or mules, and to comply with
such regulations as may be prescribed by
the Commissioners OF Internal Revenue
For the last three years, this office has
been in possession Of Information that a
large and increasing amount of raw or
lear tobacco, in portions of the country,
was being sold at retail directly to con
sumers, without payment of tax Evil
dences Of this traffic have, from time to
time been furnished by Assessors and
Collectors, and more especially by Super.
vIs0rs, who intaking transcripts from the
books,required by law to be kept by leaf
dealers, have reported that they find
scores OF pages of these books where en-
tries were made Of sales from one half
pound to four thousand each; and the
Commissioners is constantly in receipt Of
letters from manufactures of tobacco com
planning Of tue injury to their business
arising from such sales, and informing
me that in some localities where they
formerly received frequent and large or
derS for manufactured tobacco they now
make sales. The same parties who
used to make these orders are now order
ing insteadssupplies of natural leaf from
the wholesale leaf dealers. Against this
traffic grown to such large proportions,
so Injurious to their business as manufac
turers, as prejudicial to the interest of the
government revenue, they ask to be pro
tected. To this end he recommends that
section SO of the act of July 20, 1868, b.
so amended as to impose special tax OF
$4,000 ON every person who shall make a
j business of selling raw or leaf tobacco to
persons ether than those who have paid
special tax as leaf dealers or nanufac
turGrs of tobacco, snuff, or cigars, or who
shall sell leaf tobacco in quantities less
| than twenty five pounds, or who shall
sell such tobacco directly I'D consumers,
or for consumption, without it's being
manufactured and if this is not deemed
| sufficient, he would further recommend
such tax on the sales of such dealers, in
excess Of $1,000 annually, as would be
equivalent 10 the tax on the same amount
and value Of manufactured tobacco. Snch
a provision Of law will not only give the
/ required protection to the manufacturer,
who now pays special tax for carrying
on his business, in addition to a specific
tax OH all his products, but it will also
tend to increase revenue from this source.
There are now in operation 16 export
bonded warehouses. The total amount
stored in then during the fiscal year was
26,379,264 pounds quantity withdrawn
for expectation, 1864, 083; withdrawn
for consumption, II, 499,659 The figures
, show that less than half of the tobacco,
&C., removed in bond from the manufac-
tories is actually exported from the eight
bonded warehouses established at the
several ports of Philadelphia, Baltimore
New Orleans, San Francisco, and Port
!; land, Oregon. in which were stored dn-
ring the year 9,437,257 pounds of manu-
featured tobacco, only 49,. 495 pounds du
ring this period were withdrawn for ex-
portatlon, while 8,4S0,656 were with.
I drawn for consumption on payment of
The tax Nearly nine-tenths of the tobac-
CO exported from the country is shipped
through the bonded warehouses at New
York and Richmond, and of this a large
portion is nevere stored in the bonded
warehouses. The shipments are made di-
rectly from the factories, the goods being
carted by the warehouses and only con
structlvely entered therein, though the
f owners are charged with months stor-
f age. The practical operation of this
: system of bonded Warehouses hitherto
has been to give TO u few, moro particu-
} larly tc the proprietc:s OF the warehouses
. the same facilities for storing tobacco
! without the prepayment of the tax, as
e were given by the former system of class
r 3 bonded warehouses, abolished by act
q July 90, 1853. 1t is Mr.. Douglass opin-
! ion, and so far as he has been able to as
0 certain, it is the opinion of manufactur
t ers generally, that the present system of
export bonded warehouses can be entire
I ~ abolished to the interest both of the
. government and of manufactures Under
/ the present system, all the tobacco bond.
. 4 cd at the warehouses; in Richmond 10 cx-
7 ported without even entering the ware
5 house, and the same is ture of much OF
the tobacco bonded in New York. BY
/ abolishing the system of warehouses, and
. providing for the expectation of manu-
e featured tobacco, snuff and cigars, as
: other merchandise is exported ,sallowing
i drawback of the tax paid upon proof OF
6 landing abroad, requiring the tobacco to
j be loaded under the supervision Of an In
f spector, and the tax-paid stamps to be
destroyed by said officer to prevcat re-
1 loading, it is believed > large portion OF
the expenses now incurred BY the manu-
{ facturers in exporting their goods would
e be saved. The government would re-.
81 0aiYe thu taxes on all goods when remoY