Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-03-31

amounts to nothing more than confsca-
tion. To justify any form of income tax
! whatever it must be shown that it will not
exact from one man a greater or less sum
proportionately than from another. In
England an income tax is rot aimed at
class. 1t is country of fixed incomes"
as has been well said Capital there is so
largely represented in aggregated charac-
ter, and SO closely interviewer with the
personal interests of all the people, so
loaned out among the people, that an in
come tax is considered "only as fiscal
method ;" but here it is proposed not only
not to be general but a discriminative as
sault, which, whenever made characteris-
tic of tax, has shorn it OF justice and the
true purpose of taxation. 1t is not think
able that in England the idea would be tel.
Grated for moment to make one class pay
by income tax proportionally larger share
of governmental cost. Wei may well add on
his branch of the subject that such an in
come tax as ia now proposed would be
discrimination against labor, because it
would punish capital, which is the agency
for the employment of labor, and thus
visit upon labor whatever of cowardice
capital might manifest.
1t is to be a tax, we have said, not for
systematic development of revenue respon-
sive to the protection afforded by Govern.
ment, but as temporary means
for Furnishing corporations for hav-
ing resisted unjust, arbitrary and I'M
lawful assessments, and for having
been adjudged by the tribunals of
the law as not the debtors of the State,
in the face of the principle that the object
OF the State should be to raise necessary
revenue with the least amount of friction
and burdensomeness and Unto all things
else passion, hatred, vindictiseness and the
spirit of punishment may better. enter
The realm of taxation it cannos invade
without threatening the integrity of re-
publican institutions. Yet in this present
scheme, to which the Governor has permit
ted his official signature to be loaned, it is
openly proposed that the State shall re-
venge itself for fancied grievances. And
it is thus proposed to proceed to new sys-
TEN upon the false theory that corporations
have interests apart from those of the COM
munity of which their cons tituents are part
and parcel.
According to the new school OF Calfor-
MIA politico Democratic-econo my, it is con-
fessed that it would be impossible to 80
analyze the income Of an interstate rail.
way as to segregate from the gross in
come the portion detivable only from the
prosecution of business within the area of
the State lines. 1t is, therefore, by one
fell swoop proposed to tax the earning ca.
pacity and income of companies doing
business, not only in this State, bu. with
in other State and Territorial lines. And
the injustice of this proposition has
been shown to be so patent that
not even any rational defense for it
is or can be advanced. But, realiz.
ing that so mOustrous a proposition would
shock the common sense Of justice, it is
sought to excuse it by presenting it as
means of punishment for alleged infraction
of law. While it is nowhere sought to
show that the law has been evaded, and
the fact that the Courts of the law have
uniformly decided that the corporations
have not violated the law or deprived the
State or counties of revenue, it is added
that there is a liability" that they may
be so deprived of their revenue, and there
fore the proposed legislation is to be not
only retrospective punishment, but present
punishment, in anticipation of possible La
bilityof the State or counties being decreed
to have pursued the corporations with IN
just assessments and penalties.
That such a system of taxation would be
not only retrospective, and therefore
invalid, ard prospective, and therefore IN.
lustihable, IS clear, but would amount to
confscation-thatw which the Constitution
prohibits, " the taking or damaging of pri-
vate property for public use without Just
compensation, and would be, so far as the
first proposition is concerned, that other
legislation condemned by the Constitution
an " ex post facto law"
1t must be constantly borne in mind
that railroad corporations at least have not
sought to evade payment of just taxes !;
have not had any intent to escape just
contribution in proportion to benefit con.
ferred by Government, or in proportion to
taxes levied upon other citizens. And it
is necessary to keep in view these essential
facts, and to disabuse. the mind OF the false
propaganda of the new school of states.
men, who delude themselves with the idea
that they can lead the people to believe