The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1891-12-04
eRADUATEo-cUMULATIvE TAX

It WIN Accomplish, All That Graded In
come Tax Can Do-and Very Much Nor,
That an Income Tax is Powerless to Eff
feet.
A graduated income tax is tas
levied upon all ascertained or returned
incomes, such tax increasing in per-
centage in a certain ratio to the amount
OF income revealed or returned. It is
conceded that such a tax, if there were
no perjury practiced and all incomes
were honestly revealed or returned,
would be good thing as far as it went
But such tax would have no tendency
to crush out or destroy monopoly or
trusts, nor would itcollect any tax at all
from the monopolists, who owning
large bodies or innumerable small
tracts of unimproved land producing
no incomes. simply holding such land
for rise in price. The land monopo-
list is one of the principal individuals
whom it is sought to reach and elirni-
nate by an improved system of taxation.
A graduated-cumulative tax is a tax
levied upon unused and unoccupied
land and upon all improved real
estate used for income producing pur-
poses. Residences and their grounds
would be exempt This tax is levied
on all stocks, bonds, money and evi-
dences of Indebtedness, and upoa all
personal property used for purposes of
gain (capitaI.- (See p. .33, "Cumula-
tive Taxntion). It is called graduated
because, commencing with basis rate,
it increases its rate or percentage with
each increase of certain or given
amount in the valuation upon which
the tax is to be assessed. 1t is called
cumulative because where an individ-
ual or corporation owns more than one
piece or lot of property each separate
piece pays the rate of tax which is ap-
plicable to the valuation of the whole
number Of pieces, lotor parcels of prop
erty.
There is no surer way of collecting
an income tax than to levy such tax
upon the property producing such in
come, while the gradunted-cumulative
features OF this tax insure the collec-
ton of the most tax from those who
enjoy the largest income. Thus it will
do all that an income tax will do. But
it will do vast deal more than an in
come tax will do. 1t will make it next
to impossible for a man to hold more
land than he can proftably use, and
will equalize the opportunities of the
small farmers and the owners of huge
bonanza" farms. 1t will annually alb
sorb, for the people, the rise in the
value of immense holdings of land and
make land monopolists anxious to sell
The difference between the tax paid by
small manufacturing or business con-
Germ and that paid by an overgrown
monopoly, or a combination of firms
called a trust, will put the small firm
upon a footing of equality in its COM
petition with its overgrown rivals. This
tax will also tend towards the equaliza-
ton OF ell localities and opportunities,
and the difference in the rates of taxa
ton will have tendency to give con-
sumers the lowest prices for commodi-
ties and keep profits down to close
and equitable margin. The dealer
with a small capital and occupying
poor location will be enabled to sell
goods at much less price than the
merchant with a large capital and oc-
cupylng q valuable location, ana yet
the small dealers profits will be as
large as tho heavy merchants. This
tax will hold in check the practice of
over-capitalizing and watering stock,
and will prevent the amalgamation of
rival lines of railroad into immense
systems with enormous capitalization.
In short the graduated-cumulative tax
is graded income tax and much more
1t will prevent Capitalization and COM
bination; destroy trusts and land mon
opolV: eoualize locations npofks and
opportunities, and tend to confine all
business corporations to a fair and
legitimate capitalization.