Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-05-08
THE CANYONS OF TAXATION.
Ear Marks Whereby to Distinguish Good
From Bad Taxes,

| IIeFe IS no OUHer source OF wealth thar
the union of human exertion with the
material and forces of nature. But the
manner in which equal amounts of tax
alton may be imposed may very differ
emily affect the production of wealth
| Taxation which lessons the reward Of
the producer necessarily lessons the in
centive to production; taxation which is
conditioned upon the act of production
or the use of any of the three factors O.
production, necessarily discourages pro
| duction. Thus, taxation which dimin
| isheS the earnings of the Iaborer or the
returns of the capitalist tends to rende,
the one less industrious and Intelligent
the other less disposed to save and in
vest. Taxation which falls upon the
! processes of production interposes ar
artificial obstacle to the creation OF
| wealth. Taxation which falls upon
! labor as it is eXerted. wealth as it is
used as capital, land as it is cultivated
/ will manifestly tend to discourage pro,
! duction much more powerfully than
| taxation to the same amount levied
| upon laborers, whether they work or
| play, upon wealth whether used pro-
ductively or unproductively, or upon
land whether cultivated or left waste
The mode of taxation is, in fact, quite
as important as the amount. AS small
burden badly placed may distress a
! horse that could carry with ease much
larger one properly adjusted, SO people
may be impoverished and their power OF
producing wealth destroyed by taxation
which, if levied in another way. could
be borne with case. tax on date trees,
imposed by Mohammed Ali, caused the
Egyptian fellahS to cut down their trees:
but tax of twice the amount imposed
on the land produced no such result.
The tax of 10 per cent. on all sales, i'm
posed by the Duke of Alva in the Neither
lands. would, had it been maintained,
have all but stopped exchange while
yielding but little revenue
But we need not go abroad for Illus
trations. The production of wealth in
the United States is largely lesscned by
taxation. which bears upon its pro-
cesses. Ship building, in which we ex-
celled, has been all but DESTROYED. 50
far as the foreign trade is concerned
and many branches of production and
exchange seriously crippled, by taxes
which divert industry from more to. less
productive forms.
This checking of production is in
greater or less degree characteristic of
most of the taxes by which the revenues
of modern government are raised. All
taxes upon manufacturers. all taxes upon
taxes upon improvements are of this
kind. Their tendency is the same as
that of Mohammed Ais tax on date
trees. though their effect may not be 50
clearly seen.
All such taxes have tendency to
reduce the production of wealth, and
should, therefore, never be rcSOrted to
when it is possible to raise money by
taxes which do not check production.
This becomes possible as society de-
velops and wealth accumulates. Taxes
which fall upon ostentation would SIM
ply turn into the public treasury what
otherwise would be wasted in vain show
for the sake of show: and taxes upon |
wills and devises of the rich would
probably have little effect in checking
the desire Tor accumulat ton which. after |
1T has fairly got mold of 4 man, becomes
a blind passion. But the great class of |
taxes from which revenue may be de- |
rived without interference with produc- |
ton are taxes upon monopOlieS-tor the |
profit of monopoly is in itself tax |
levied upon production, and to tax it is
simply to divert into the public Golfers
what production must in any event pay.
But all other monopolies are trivial in !
extent as, compared with the monopoly |
Of land. And the value of land ex--
pressing a monopoly, pure and simple,
is in every respect fitted for taxation.
Taxes levied upon the value of land
cannot check production in the slightest
degree until they exceed rent, or the
value of land taken annually, for. I'M
like taxes upon commodities, or ex-
change, or capital, or any of the tools or
processes of production, they do not
bear upon production. The value of
and does not express the reward of
as does the value of crops,
IF cattle, of buildings, or any of the
things which are styled personal prop
'Iby dHu 1Ll piON6lHeniS IL tX Expresses
5he exchange value of monopoly. 1t is.
not in any case the creation of the in
lividual who owns the land; it is created
0y the growth of the community. Hence
he community can take it all without
n any way lessening the incentive to
or in the slightest degree
essening the production of wealth.
Faxes may be imposed upon the value
If land until all rent is taken by the
State, without reducing the wages of
abor or the reward of capital one iota;
without increasing the price of single
or making production in any
way more difficult.
But more than this. Taxes ON the
'alue of land not only do not check
production as do most other taxes, but
hey tend to increase production, by
speculative rent. How spec
llative rent checks production may be
cen not only in the valuable land with =,
leld from use, but in the paroxysms of {
depression which, originating
n the speculative advance in land
'alues, propagate themselves over the
Whole civilized world, everywhere par
Lying industry and causing more
waste and probably more suffering than
would general war. Taxation which
would take rent for public uses would
prevent all this; while if land were