Rock Island daily Argus., 1886-12-29
The Taxation ofLabor

the Political Science Quarterly, the en-
deavor of the writer being to ascertain
how far taxation in this country operates
to diminish wages. Here is, indeed a
field for all those who are calling for Leg
islative remedies for the ills of the labor
ing man. and especially for those who
are struggling with pen and ink to put
their ideas In the form of bills and con.
stitutional amendments We have to ac-
knowledge that Mr., Spahr has come
nearer to finding grievance susceptible
of legislative remedy than any other
publicist of the period. He shows with>
out doubt that taxation in nearly al
countries is devised to throw vastly dis.
proportionate share of the burdens of
government upon wage workers and
small capitalists an d the receivers of
small incomes, and that this condition is
more glsring in the United States than in
any other country, by reason of the mons
strous system of protective duties by
which the national revenue is in a large
il. measure obtained.
The foundation of Mr.. Spahr's argus
ment, as regards indirect taxes, is the
one commonly accepted by economists,
and admirably stated by Bastiat, that the
rightful end of all human endeavOr Is
abundance. plentiful, cheapness of the
things that make for human COM
fort and enjoyment. This Is so plain
truth that everybody ought to recognize
it and act upon it, but 1t is found in
practice that governments seldom do re>
eognize it, but most commonly proceed
upon the idea that the end to be aimed at
is scarcity. restriction and monopoly
This is especially and avowedly the aim
OF our government in Its protective
policy. Not only SO, but the further
avowal is made that we ought to impose
duties on imported goods, in order to
eountervail and offset the domestic taxa
ton of the home producer. i. 6, the
capitalist. We ought to make goods
scarce and dear in order to give him
chance for profit, and take pains also TO
see that he does not pay any taxes. OF
course somebody must pay Who is that
somebody? The consumer. of course,
but that is not the final answer. Who
is the consumer? Mr. Spahr shows by
rigid analysis that the consumer is the
wage worker. the clerk. the small trades
man, the common people in the propor>
ton of ten or twenty to one of those
who enjoy independent incomes apart
from their daily exertions. And this he
rightly holds to be unjust and a real
grievance. Naional taxation is now im>
posed ostensibly to enable capital to EN-
ploy labor. 1t would be more in accord
with the principles of justice. Mr.. Spahr
thinks, to repeal every protective duty
and then impose a direct tax to enable
labor to employ capital.
As regards the incidents of local taxa
iion MIR. Spahr finds that the general rule
prevailing in Europe and America that
taxes are levied to put disproportionate
share of the burden of government on the
poorer classes holds good here also to
some extent, but not to large extent
since taxes on land are paid by the
owner and cannot possibly be shifted up
on anybody else. Taxes on buildings
are. in growing community, paid by
the occupier, althoug the process Of
shifting the burden from the owner TO
the occupier is slow and halting. 1t is
not right theoretically that so large pro-
portion of personal property should es>
cape taxation for local purposes, but up
on the whole Mr.. Spshr agrees with this
proposition: Never tax anything that
would be of value to your state, and that
could and would rnn away, or that could
and would come to you" The excise
tax on liquor and tobacco be holds to be
essentially tax on labor, because it is
paid almost wholly by people Of small
means, but the tax on liquor should be
maintained upon other grounds. 1t is |
right to make liquor scarce and high. |
The tobacco tax should be maintained, if |
at all. upon the ground that indulgence
in it is hurtful to health. This is medi- |
cal or physiological rather than an econ
omical question. An income tax, ex-
empting small incomes altogether, and |
either progressive or proportional upon
large ones. is the ideal system of taxation,
but the difficulties of assessing it and the
complete failure to assess it rightly in
countries like Saxony, where the taxing
machinery is the best in the world, must
raise serious doubts as to its practicable
ness in this country at present. Never
theless, endeavors should be constantly
made to relieve labor of taxation and to
impose the burden on capital, i. e., on in,
come. This the writer holds to be the
right way to oppose socialism, by depriv-
ing socialists of real grievance.
Melin's Food, the only perfect SUBJ