Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1891-08-08
atiu1 in amount. and not pcrfecs3y {fe6

citing in amount, and not perfectly {rsO
from evasion. 1t has no pretense to 10
anything but . makcshift. except in tho
minds of those who hold that the right
of property terminates at death.
So The value of good local govern
meets appears as an increase of land
value. and is paid for by the tenant to
the landlord. Therefore the landlord
should pay the expense of furnishing ID
to the tenant.
81 In the same way tho existence OK
local taxes, other than the tax on land,
decreases the land value of the place.
and their abolition would increase 1t,
thus compromising the landlords foF
their loss by this change.
81. With regard to the loss which
would be caused to landowners by the
establishment of the single tax limited:
(a) 1t would be no loss. but gain to
those whose proportional interests as
owners of taxed personal property and
improvements exceeded their proper.
tonal interest as landowners, including
working farmers in general las shown
by statistics), and probably numerical
majority of all landowners.
l6l OF those who did lose, the major
ity would have interests in other taxed
property so nearly equal to their inter
est in land as to make the loss slight
= tcl' The general Increase in the pros
perity of the community would cause
a rise in land values. further compen-
sating land owners This is especially
true as to the. single tax for local pur-
poses. See Nos. Se-&l.
(d) In all cases the loss to the fand-
owner would be measured, not by the
whole increase of his land tax, but by
this increase minus the decrease of his
other taxes. This amount would be SO
small compared with the whole range
of taxation affected by the change that
any difficulties arising from it arc prop
crly mere matters of detail. Compen-
sation conld be given for itwithout lay
ing very great burden on the public
treasury: though it is not proba bic that
this would DC done.
te} In the above considerations no
reference is made TO the destruction of
the purely speculative element in land
values, about which it is not probable
that any reliable estimate could be
made. But it is not supposed that any
one will make the abolition of this =
serious objection.
~ Landowners would participate in
the increase of general prosperity equal
ly with others.
landlords for the loss caused by the sim
gle tax would be open to the following
practical objections: ta) 1t would be
the object of much speculation and
fraud; (G) since it is not customary to
give compensation to those who lose by
any change in tax laws the unusual
proposition in this case would cause
confusion and possible obstruction to
the reform: (c) the increased public OK
pensc of paying the compensation could
mot be met by an increase in the land
tax. since this would at once call for
further compensation: it must then be.
met by maintaining some one of our
other taxes, all of which lsce Nos. -,
2l, I'D are practically attended with
| more or less.injustice.
| "a. Government has no right to con-
tinue taking from individuals the prod
| uct of their In Dor. when it can obtain its
revenue by taking once for all that
which is the product of no individuals
Dor, and periodically collecting the
| rental value of this.
| %5. The single tax, when once perIna-
ncntly in operation, would be in effect
the abolition of all taxation, which
would be the most certain cure for all
the evils of taxation.
Sc. When the difficulties attending its
first establishment were past. AMI it
| had become the settled policy of the
country, the single tax unlimited wonld
| be a tax system of absolute theoretical
perfection, in the practical carrying out
| OF which there wuaid be involved no
| evils but such as ccssar fly arise from
| the imperfect human nature of assessors
and collectors. -Stcphen T. Byington.