The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1892-06-24
SCIENTIFIC TAXATION.

Since the publication of my series OF
articles in reference to the single tax, !
have noticed several communications in
PRINT, criticising my views, and have re-
celved various leaflets and pamphlets
with paragraphs marked to call my
special attention thereto.
All of these communications and
marked paragraphs seem to aim at the
one single object of emphasizing GER
tain line of argument which is succinct-
~ presented in marked paragraphs in
leaflet sent me by Mr.. j. M. McGarvan,
OF Denver, Col.
The paragraphs are found in leaflet
entitled Taxing Land Values" by Mr..
Henry George, and read as follows:
That taxes levied upon land values. or. to use
the politico- economic term. taxes levied upon
rent do not fall upon the user of land and can
not be transferred by the landlord to the ten
ant is conceded by all economists Of reputation,
however much they may dispute as to other
things, there is no dispute upon this point
Whatever fimsy reasons any Of them may
have deemed it expedient to give why the tax
on rent should not be more reSorted to, they all
admit that the taxation Of rent merely dimin-
ishes the profits OF the land owner, cannot be
shifted on the of land, cannot add to prices
or check production
Here, for instance. is piece of land that has
value-let it be where it may Its rent, or
value, is the highest price that anyone will give
for tit is bonus which the man who wants
to use the land must pay to the man who owns
the land for permission to use it. NoU, If q tao
be teUed that rent u0ue, this in scise adj
to the willingness of any one to pay more for the
land than before; nor docs 1t in any scGy add to
the ability of the oaoner to demand more To sup
in fact fhat fav ho
by land owners upon tenants, is to suppose that
the owners Of land do not now get for their
land all it will bring; is to suppose that, simply
whenever they want to, they can put up prices
as they please.
The comical phase of the situation is
that there seems to be an effort made to
| disabuse my mind of ideas and theories
never dreamed of entertaining and
certainly have never advanced. To this
misrepresentation seriously object AS
| small boy might say: 81 want show
for my white alley"
For instance, the above argument
bears upon point in reference to which
| have been either entirely misunder-
stood, Or else purposely misrepresented.
have never even intimated that the
! single tax would be added to present
prices and thus Increase the price of all
| goods, wares and commodities offered
for SALE have readily conceded that
the trend of the argument seemed to
prove that prices would be decreased by
| just the sum of the tariff and rev.
| enue taxes and all direct taxes levied
| upon buildings and goods, wares and
| merchandise. Indeed, as the trent or
value (of land is the highest price that
any one will give for it's use'' and the
single tax takes all such rent as tax,
| an addition to rent would simply be an
increase of the tax.
But Mr.. George begs the question, or
| befogs the issue when he so persistently
uses the term ''land oaoneys." Under the
single tax system las I shall shortly
prove by Mr. George) there would be no
land owners All would alike be ten
| ants of themselves people or gov
ernment-and there would be no land
owners to shift the tax. But, even as
under the present system all rents and
all taxes levied upon land and upon
buildings used for profitable or income
producing businesses are included in
| mot added toy the prices of all wares,
commodities and services rendered, so
under the single tax system the rent or
tax would continue to be included in
| such prices l think 1 have clearly
proven this in previous communications.
Occupiers and users of valuable land,
then, all being alike tenants of the gov
eminent and paying for the use of land,
more rent than any one else would pay,
yyO1 G. nj W a of n fo fOys
the government and included in the
price of their goods, wares and COM
modities would collect the single tax
and pay it over to the government.
now want to prove by Mr.. George
that under the single tax system there
| would be no individual land owners
and that have correctly stated the sf-
fects and workings of the system
Upon page 1872 of Protection or Free
Trade" find the following:
No matter how complex the indus trial organ
| ization, nor how highly developed the civiliza-
ton, there is no real difficulty in carrying out
| these principles All we have to do is to treat
| the land as the joint property Of the whole peo-
| pie, just as railway is treated as the joint
| property Of many shareholders, or ship is
treated as the joint property OF several owners.
In other words, we can leave land now being
used in the secure possession Of those using it,
and leave land now unused to be be taken pos
| session of by those who wish to make use Of it,
on condition that those who thus hold land shall
pay to the community fair rent for the exclu-
| sive privilege they enjoy-th.t is to say, rent
! based on the value Of the privilege the indfvid-
| ual receives from the Community in being &C
! corded the exclusive use Of this much of the
common property, nd1which should have no
reference to any Improvement he had made in
| or on it. or to any proftNue to the use Of his
! labor and capital In this way all would be
placed upon an equality in regard to the use and
| enjoyment Of those natural elements which are
clearly the common heritage, and that value
which attaches to land, not because Of what the
| individual user does. but because Of the growth
Of the community, would accrue to the COM
munity, and could be used for purposes Of COM
| mon benefit AS Herbert Spencer has said OF it:
"Such q doctrine consistent with the highest
state OF civilization: may be carried out without
involving community Of goods, and need cause
| no very serious revolution in existing arrange
ments The change required would be simply
| q change Of landlords. Separate ownership
| would merge into the lolnt-stock ownership Of
the public Instead Of being in the possession
Of individuals the country would be held by
the great corporate body-society. A
| state OF things 50 ordered would be in perfect
| harmony with the moral law. Under it all men
| would be equally landlords, all men would be
| alike free to become tenants Clearly. there
oh <bo nth 7iohf no in.