The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-02-19
National Taxniiou.

rh. yheSlIny INrEL11GESCHR seems 10 thIuk that
the InttE was ''Iu boiling nOOd when II stHte1 ~
All aricc s SesI s ~ SI 1he mn which our
sGte pays directly and tdifecsiy INTO INC Unts 90
state. Treasury Is about 100000 i 1ys 70 be
exact, the amount PAID into me SniI s S' 1ss
TnAhuTy by Ncht NLSlulA III hV AASNa SS'A' 'SS-
W." .To Ie ';ank, taeedltor Of the ISTELLIGENcER Is
either Ignorant Of what he writes or Heii 10 ~.
WeHFs charitable enough 10 b lieye that 4 Is lhe
10 mer The amount Of dhtd axes, when u COZ
lectpd By the Internal revenue system psi 70 the
~ nerti IOy eminent by the Clttsehs Of our sA
duri1gisS2 was SJ02,gIG. But this scarcely repre-
Tnuis one nth fine actual taxes paid by our per
pie II idI1 thens would 6e yeIy s SaT shi IS
they 70 bitterly c0mpaiu, and viii h IoF me $sai
is; amounted TO more than SW0C0o. Tns
m ney Isnot collected from the citizens o. West
Vi,dnIn by The OIL :erS Of the y. .. u0yeInment,
butii is paid by the importer In The way Of optia
on Imports, which duties arc, As every one Ehow.'
eventually paid BY the conSumer.-FGti mont Inae]'
Now we begin to sec what it Is that
makes our esteemed cotemporary boil. 1t
is indirect taxation, that is to soy, the duty
on imports. Dividing by population the
amount OF revenue received from various
sources, the Inder fnda that every man,
woman and child in West Virginia sis
annually assessed directly and indirectly
more than eight dollars to meet tho ex-
penses Of the National government" and
this is what is complained Of 80 bitterly
Assuming 100000 to be the population oil
West Virginia, the Inder performs "a sim
pie act Of multiplication" and, behold We
have 100000 as our share Of the burden
OF National taxation. This way Of getting
at it looks good deal better than 1t is.
Suppose eight dollars per capita to be the
average the country .over-who will say
that West virginians pay eight dollarsa
head, or in that ratio, to reimburse the
importer for the customs duties he has
paid? The Iadsr belongs to party which
believes that political economy is a science
what political economist would be vii.
ling to stake his reputation on conclusion
based upon an alleged fact Of SO much un-
certainty? It may be that the
people OF West Virginia pay more
than the general per capita, it may be
that they pay less, according as they buy
more or less Of imported goods. We sup
pose it will be conceded that the people OF
rich State, containing many cities and
populous towns, where display counts
for good deal, will buy more imported
wares in proportion, and so pay more
customs dues per capita, than such State
as West. Virginia, where the conditions we
have supposed are very nearly reversed
where, certainly, imported Injuries do not
form so considerable part Of personal
expenditure.
We consider the alleged per capita thus
far to show that 1t is unreliable as a basis
OF argument. We are quite willing to
grant that every man, woman and child In
the State pays eight dollars a year for the
support OF the National Government. lit
will strengthen uririend's argument letthe
per capita be ten dollars. How much OF
this is due to internal revenue taxes, laid
for war purposes, and now stoutly
championed by the Democratic party
to break down a protective
tariff; how: much is due to customs re-
cepts; how much to receipts from public
lands and how much to receipts from sum
dry miscellaneous sources-in all S4oS, 525,.
$50 for lSS2-our esteemed contemporary
does not inform its readers.
Figures and taking deductions aside, We
hear OF no "bitter complaints" about ex-
cessive taxation on imports except from
persons and newspapers more concerned
about the making Of political capital
than the welfare Of the people.
And it may be said further that
no man, woman or child in West
Virginia, being taxed eight dollars more
or less per capita, feels that he or she is
ground to death by taxation. Suppose we
were to lift the whole per capita-does our
friend think that each man, woman and
child would feel keen sense Of relief?
With regard to State taxation-we are
discussing that matter from time to time.
It is sufficient just now to say that taxation
in West Virginia is not 80 heavy as 1t
would be II the Democratic Legislature had
the courage to raise by taxation the money
to meet the States immediate consti.
tutional obligations.
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