The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-11-13
THE TAX SOLUTION.

THE TAX SOLUTION.
The Graduated Cumulative Tax will De-
stroy Trusts and Monopolies and Equal
lie Profits and Opportunities.
The table in a preceding article indi-
Gates the kind of public taxation it is
proposed to employ to regulate the
GLASS methods out of existence. TAX.
ing for granted that the avenue needs
at any particular time necessitated an
1nitiatory rate of one mill on the dol
lar, that rate is assessed against all
values not exceeding $4,000. Upon
values exceeding $4,000, two mills is
assessed up to S2O,OO0 three mills
against all from $4,000 to $50, 900, and
so on.
The objects sought in this plan de-
mand, OF course, that properties be as
sessed to their real values, as system
OF undertaking and evading will be
bound to work in favor of the classes
and to result in converting the taxa
ton into some other form in practice if
not in theory.
The manner of subdividing properties
for taxable purposes would have to un-
dergo some modification, as will be
seen, in order that this plan might serve
its chief purpose of being regulator
against the form of wealth organiza-
ton which is hurtful. What form of
wealth concentration is hurtful and
what not? That form is hurtful which
constitutes a monopoly and enables
proprietors and managers to control an
entire line of properties or operations,
and to dictate terms to employees who
must have work and to consumers who
must have certain classes of commcdi-
ties. That form is unhurtful which is
not arranged in monopoly, as is the
case of a man who is possessed of big
fortune invested in variety of enter
prises-in farm, mill, mine,
store and so on, and who does not at
tempt to corner commodities, but on
the contrary stays out of corners and
action to break them down.
If we were to sub-divide properties
according to ownership merely. as is
done now, and tax accumulately we
would make a mistake, because we
would cause no distinction between
the rich man who was a monopolist
and the rich man who was not, and
would create no tendency to dissipate
monopolies. Hence the subdivision
must be with reference to kind as we'll
as to ownership. An ideal instance
will illustrate what that subdivision
should be and why.
We will suppose that Mr. Goldsmitter
is worth two million five hundred thou
sand dollars, five hundred thousand of
which is in western lands and the two
featuring plant belonging to a trust
controlling all like plants in the coun-
try. We wish to cause Mr.. Goldsmitter
to divide his investments up into q
variety of independent and monopoly
free enterprises. Instead of taxing him
at the two million five hundred thou
sand dollar rate we will tax each class
of property separately at rate CORE
spending to it's worth. The land we
will tax, as property belonging to it's
class, at the five hundred thousand dol
lar rate. See the effect. Mr.. Gold
smitter will dispose of all his land ex-
cept one hundred thousand dollars
worth (salable) to actual settlers upon
easy terms. and invest the proceeds as
they accrue in other classes of enter
prises, being careful not to over-invest
in any particular class In other
words finding way to reduce his tax
alton by ceasing to be land monopol-
ist, he does So What he will do, others
will do and land monopoly will be
ended.
Mr.. Goldsmitter's steel plant we will
tax at the rate corresponding to the
value of all the properties in the trust.
We will tax his plant at rate CORE
spending to its real value, two million
dollars. Then. if the plant be three
times as large as a complete plant need
be- he will divide it into three plants
dispose of three of them and invest the
proceeds in other classes of enterprises
and become general competitor with
others in other enterprises. AS he will
do will do all monopolists who are sub
jected to the cumulative tax and the
monopolies will disappear.
So much for the manner of assessing
and sub-dividing which is necessary
part of the proposed plan of taxation
and which, com bined with the tax it.
self is what is needed, and all that is
needed, believe, to accomplish in a
plain and easy manner the greatest
amount of reform possible to be at
tanned by single and simple measure.
Think it over and see if l am not right.
1t will be urged by the advocates of
monopoly that cumulative or grad
uated tax, such as has been proposed
in this series of articles, is open to the
objections, first, that it would be tax
favoring the poorer classes; and, Sec
ondly, that it would act as drawback
to industrial development through
making it difficult for large enterprises
to arise and exist even where largeness
was essential to the greatest amount of
perfection and economy in management
and production. Let us see how much
truth there is in these objections.
Mr.. Goldsmitter may claim as justi6-
cation for controlling half dozen or
more townships of land in the west,
that he is engaged in the raising of
beef cattle, and that the raising of
beeves upon scale requiring that