The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-06-05
thought AND BEST considered action OF the

thought and best considered action OF the
nation.
ii is not now, never has been and never will
be my purpose TO plumber men because they
are rich, through unjust and uncomfortable
exactionS. Such course would be neither
good policy nor good morals.
1t is only right to compel the rich to contrib
ute just and reasonable sum to the national
expense, and II is upon this basis and to this
end that my remarks are directed.
The system of the taxation of property in
proportion to ITS value, or direct taxation, as
IL is generally called, is, all things being con-
sidered, the most just and equal,
1t is, in the main, the only system provided
by the constitution of Illinois which provides
for Ievying. ga tax by valuation, so that every
person and corporation shall pay a tax in
proportion to the valuation of his, her or its
IL also permits a license tax on certain
trades and business, and also tax upon the
exercise of tranchis' 5 granted by the state.
Under this system 1t necessarily results that
the more property person owns the more
tax he must pay TO the state. This remark
does not apply, however, to those men who,
by fighting their taxes, get lid of paying any
at all.
This is just as it should be. not only as far as
relates to the state government, but also the
national government. But in regard to the
national government a different rule exists.
The federal constitution provides that, NO
cap1tatiOn or other direct tax shall be land
unless in proportion to the census or
enumeration hereinbsfore directed to be
tax be levied by the United States it must
be levied upon the various states according to
the number of its inhabitants, and not the
value of the property therein.
If a direct tax were levied by the govern
ment ii would fall with great severity upon
the new states and upon the west and south,
where people are plenty and wealth is scarce,
and light Y upon the older states of the east
where the amount of wealth is very great in
proportion to population.
Direct taxation of property bv the federal
government is impracticable under the con-
stitution as 1T now exists, and before it could
be adopted so as to be in fact tax on proper
". WOnlO amend the c0nS1l
tntion, and that would require vote of two
thirds OF both houses of congress in order to
propose an amendment, and the concurrence
of three-fourths of all the states IN order to
ratify it.
THE WAY TO ADJUST THE TAX.
l would recommend that incomes UP to So
OOG should be exempted from taxation.
l. Because an income of that amount con-
tributes largely to the consumption tax; and
2 Because ii is easier to collect a tax on in
comes on sums above that amount than below
1t. The tax would be assessed on less than half
the persons at 5000 than at 200; and the ma
chinery OF government necessary to collect the
tax would be much smaller and less expen-
sive.
The second proposition which / have to
make in regard TO the tax on incomes, is that
the rate of taxation should be small at first,
and increase with the volume OF the income.
Thus, an income of $4,000 ought to pay less
tax and at a lower ate than an income of S50,-
600: and for this reason that the man receiv-
ing an income of 5000 spends "A larger proper
ton of il, and pays relatively larger proper
ton OF the consumption tax than the man who
receives an income of $4,000.
will illustrate this in another way-one
man receives an income of $4,000, and spends
90 per cent. of il in living, $1,000: another man
receives an income of Sl.G0i00, and spends >
per cent. in living, i. e $4,000
The one has $1,000 left, and the other has
S950,0O0 left.
The first man has used so per cent. of his
income toward paying the tax on consump-
ton, while the other has used only per cent.
for that purpose.
So the man with the smaller income has in
fact paid II times as much toward the con-
sumption tax in proportion to his income as
the man with the larger income.
Now il would not be just To tax the
Slof W income at as high a rate as the income
of 81, 00C 900.
The tax must be graduated upon some basis
which is fair and just, and which distributes
the burden with reasonable equality.