The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1885-02-03
harieston News and Courier. Feb =
The - HDaras.z Tax"


The House Committee ON Claims having de-
cided, by a vote OF to 4, 10 report the bill pro-
viding for the rounding of the lax imposed by
the Government on the States and Territories
rs war tax under the Acis of Congress of Au
gust 5, 1861, and June e. 1892 and releasing
those States which yet owe the tax, shorr
csunt of the character and operation Of the tax
will be found interesting.
The Direct Tax Act was passed by Congress
in 1892, the amount of the tax being $40, 600
600 This was apporiioned among the States
and Territories. The amount for which the
States composing the Southern Confectionery
were liable was e. 945, sol For these States
commissioners were appointed 10 sell lands
assessed for taxation under the Act. The Com
missloners proceeded seize and sell IA
large amount of land in Virginia. South Caro-
lima Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas The lands
in MANY instances bringing greatly more than
the amount taxes and costs charged against
them The tax el also in some instances upon
q small section oi State, IN South Carolina,
where the lax was collected, or was derived from
the sale of the property, the coast. from the
Waccamaw to the Savannah rivers This fringe
OF the State paid more than the whole lax levied
upon all South Carolina Ia each 81 The South
ern States we nave named, except Arkansas, Il
large quantity OF land was bid in tnr The United
States In South Carolina. after the lands 50
bid in had hecome the properly OF the Unie,i
States, the Commissioners suDdivid-,l aut sold
some of the plantations and some lots 10 the
town OF Beaufort The whole tax levied upon
South Carolina 1865 576. and from the lands
OF small number OF persons III Charleston anti
On the seaboard the United States bv sales oi
land under the Tax Act, BY resales OF land struck
off to the United States under the Act, and by
the actual collection of taxes received less u
sum han 1914 22S2
The Judiciary Committee nj the House repOr
led in 1881 that To The money received by the
| United States over and above the taxes, costs
and legal charges incurred By reason of the sacs
the Government of the United States has not
! tine shallow of legal ut moral right anu the
| Commissioner 0t Internal Revenue, in his report
admitted that the policy OF returning to The
owners the surplus proceeds of safes Oi property
| tor taxes. after defuciing all lawful charges is
not only al equitable one bul recognized III the
/ legislation III MANY ii not most OF the States. AS
well as IN the internal revenue laws OF the
| United States
| In memorial submitted tea Congress in 1892
/ i, was shown that the property nj the Snuti.
| Carolina memOriaiists WAS Improperly assessed
| ior taxation under the Diiect Tax Act and tina.
/ ihey We're forced 10 pay, directly and indirectly
even more than the whole tax lail on the whole
State They claimed with reason, that the
difference between the amounts nj which the
Government bid in lands that were offered for sale
anu the amount OF the taxes due such lands
belng $60J,2. together with the difference
between the proceeds OF sales to either parties
received by the Government and the taxes due
on SUCH lands. being $24 754, clearly belongs To
parties whose property Was sold The whole
amount is SIS ,326, which has been withheld from
tine persons entitled tn for NOT les than seven
leen years. The memoriaisis claim that the
whole amount for which the lands sold or an
which lakes were collected, were liable under "A
lawful assessment was $1l9 691 But the agents
of the Government coil-cted $222 800 being "A
little over hundred thousand dollars mure
than c0nl,l have iseen lawfully collected, il every
dollar tor whcih each piece OF property was Ii
bic mad been paid The amount collected n one
way or another nv the United States rs 1894 =
DIP 81 nearly $500, 00e more than the whole TAX
for the whole STATE besides the sixteen scho0l
farms OF 100 acres EACH. and the United States
claim that $l52 ,O00 is still due by South Caroiina
an account OF the direct lax.
The prescn; bill proposes, az the simplest sOln
ton OF the question, To refund MOI merely any
excess nj receipts over the amount of the INK
levied, but the whole amount received IN any
way under the Direct Tax law