Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-06-16
The License Tax on Merchants.

The merchants have been much puzzleo
by the ambiguity of tbs wording OF the
18th Sec. Chap. 119 of the ACTS ef Inc AS
sembly of 1SS1-'S2. This ambiguity whic''
chiefly obscured the meaning OF the gfa"u-
ated tax on the amount OF purchases
arose from the fact that the bill was d.
first Incorrectly printed. The Sections
as afterwards revised and correctly PRINT
ed in a subsequent edition of the Acts are
as follows:
'27. Every merchant shall pay license
tax for the privilege of transacting bus'-
ness in this State, to be graduated by the
amount OF purchases made by him during
the period for which his license is granted.
TO ascertain the amount Of purchases, IL
shall be the duty of such merchant. on the
thlrty-first day of July, the thirty-hrst day
of October. the thirty-first day of January
and the thirtieth day Of April IN each year,
or within ten days after the expiration OF
each quarter. to make report IN Wrltlng,
under oath, to the com missioner OF the
revenue for the district in which he Was
licensed, showing the amount OF goods &C
tually bought by him during the next pre-
ceding three months. The form of the re-
port required by this section shall be pre-
pared by the auditor of public accounts,
and furnished to each commissioner OF tne
revenue: and by him distributed to eacn
licensed merchant. And each commissioner
shall, in the mode prescribed for making
reports ny him of violations of the revenue
law. report every merchant who shall tall
to comply with the requirements of this
section. If any person shall bring goods
ipto this State at time, when, by an as
sessmant, he cannot procure license for
the full term of one year, and desires TO
have such goods sold at auction, the com
missioner of the revenue may assess the
tax at rate equal to the tax for one year.
Any person violating the provisions of this
act shall pay fine of not less than thirty
dollars nor more THAI one thousand doi-
lars for each offence.
''28. On every license to merchant or
mercantile firm, the tax to be paid shall be
graduated as follows : If the amount of
purchases shall not exceed one thousand
dollars, the tax shall be five dollars; where
purchases do not exceed two thousand
dollars, the tax shall be ten dollars; and
for all purchases over two thousand dol
lars and less than fifty thousand dollars.
there shall he tax of forty cents on every
chases over fifty thousand dollars, there
shall be paid tax of ten cents on every
one hundred dollars in excess of fifty thou
sand dollars. The tax imposed under and
by virtue of this section. shall be in lieu
Of all tax. for State purposes, on the CAPT
tai actually employed by said merchant OF
mercantile firm in said business. The tax
in excess of twenty dollars imposed by
this section shall be paid in equal install
ments on the tenth of January, tenth of
April, tenth of July, and tenth of Octo
Der in each year, and shall be collected in
the same manner the license taxes are
collected; provided, that there shall be nc
Abatement in the tax, should the party
licensed under this and the preceding sec
tons discontinue business during the
year and provided further, that if, at the
, close of the year for which his license is
issued, the merchant should elect not to
renew it, but desires the privilege to sci
whatever remnant of purchases he may
have Oh hand at the time, it may be law
full for him to do SO upon the payment Of
a licensed tax upon SAID remnant of mer
chandise, to be regarded for taxable pur
poses as purchases the amount of sale
tax to be proportional according to the
length of time the license has to run
Merchant tailers, lumber merchan is, furni
ture merchants, butchers, green grocers,
hucksters, dealers In coal, ice or wood
shall be embraced in this section. But
nothing in this section shall be so constru
ed as to require license Of any person
who may canvass any county or corpora
ton to buy matters of subsistence design
ed as food for man or beast"