The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1891-06-05
< PsR CAPITA.


rnr;cn ~ Taxation ON Each Man-What
the tsrin Tax Amounts 90.
The Pittsburgh Dispatch. q rcpub-
lican Journal. has been calling atten-
ton 10 the cnormons taxation per capita
which the country is now paying. and
10 the fact that the example set by con-
yress causes an increase in state and
city taxes. The Dispatch says:
The extraordinary acton Of congress In
sailing Tor one thousand million of dollars
Tor - preparations this year appear 10
y I'VE set the pace through the country. and
u u not alone the gentlemen in the saddle at
Wnshirg tnn who can ride hard and fast
when the popular chcck-rcin - loo ely set.
The Dispatch then estimates the tax
alton paid per capita by the people Of
Pittsburgh a. follows:
!. The congressional appropriation calls
Tor the equivalent ~ a per capita tax of
about ~ upoa each Of the population Of the
country
2 The state 81 Pennsylvania %apprnpria-
lions are reported a. being likely I call for
near sss.0.0w. which. IL allowed wonl rep
rc-srt a per capita tax OF - ON the populi-
ton Of the state.
4 The city 81 Pittsbargh'- appropriation Of
st5 D.v'0 for the year - almost 81 per capita
on the population ~ the city.
Z Allegheny county tax. say IS per capita
population OF the county.
How these taxes accumulate for the
working and producing members OF the
community may be seen from the fol-
lowing concluding reflections of the
Dispatch:
These rough but sufficiently close esfi-
mates show for the current year the equiya
lent Of a total p : capita tx Of 81 for resi-
dents OF our own city. Allowing for infants,
tor the helpless. incapacitated and uneln
ployed. the usual average Of four TO every
adult workinginan. and II appears that on
the labor OF the latter there i a total yearly
tax ofs2
But there is one side of the question
which the Pittsburgh paper does not
touch upon. The tax Of SIS per capita
levied by the last congress in the Two
years Of its existence represents what
is actually paid into the United States
treasury in tariff duties and 70.
ternal venue taxes on whisky and
tobacco. This estimate leaves out o.
account the increased cost Of domestic
commodities by reason Of the protective
tariff. IL has been estimated by care
full statisticians that for every dollar
that goes into the treasury s. goes into
the pockets Of private individuals. In
this way many people not only escape
the payment Of their SIS in national
taxes but even fill their pockets under
the forms Of law from the earnings OF
other peoples labor.
tariff taxes alone amounted during
the fiscal year 1890 TO sa25. 600. 600. II
we estimate that every producer has
four other persons dependent upon Lis
labor, this sum would give a tariff tas
of about Sl7 for each producer. Com
bining with this the tax which goes Y
private protected individuals. estimated
above Il be three times as great, we
have a total tariff tax of SOS per year
for each man who labofs.
Now that so many people are trying
TO find out the cause OF agricultural de-
preston would it not be well to turn at
tcntion to the SIS in tariff taxation? II
show how il works take a county Of 90.
900 people. In this county il may b
roughly estimated that onc-ffth. or :,
900 men. are workers. Sixty-cight dol
lars for each Of these would amount 4
ss72.000 for a single county for ONT
year, apart from state and county taxes
Clearly the people Of this country sr'
taxed toe much; and there can be M
doubt that excessive taxation il a prim,
cause Of hard times.