Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-06-09
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
Who Pay the Taxes7
THOMAS G. sHEARMAN-

THOMAS G. sHEARMAN
An intelligent correspondent puts. in
concise form. the question so often
asked in vague, cloudy manner:
"Wil not the actual laborers of any
country be compelled finally to pay all
taxes? Can any plan be devised by
| which the wealth of the country can
be made to bear the burden of taxa
| tion?''
These questions can not be properly
answered with either yes or no. The
| actual laborers of any country-in-
| Guiding in that term all who do useful
| work-do, in fact, pay not only all the
taxes, but also all the cost of support
ing all the people who do not work.
They pay the cost of everything. Nor
| can any plan be devised which will re-
| ieve them from this burden. Wealth
means nothing at all. except the pos
session of power to make other people
work for us No property which does
not give this power has any commercial
value II / own house, be it ever so
fine, it is not wealth, unless it is so
situated that some other person would
be willing to do work for me if | will
let him use that housn There are hum
dreds of well-built houses in the west
ern territories or states which are alan
doned. because no one will render any
work for their use. They are of no
market value, and therefore they are
not wealth
But. while no one can devise a plan
by which the laborers shall escape from
paving all the taxes. it is easy TO devise
plan by which they can be saved from
paving them twice over. Nature COM
pels them to pay all taxes once, in the
rent of land The landlords long ago
invented a plan by which the laborers
Were forced to pay the taxes the second
time. This is calle<. Indirect taxa
ton" The law allows landlords to coll
lect from laborers a rent fully equal to
all necessary taxes: and this right, be-
cause an inexora BILE law of nature COM
pels this payment to be made to some
body. and landlords are the people who,
also by natural law, are appointed to
collect it. But the law allows the land
lords to keep all this rent in their own
pockets, except such small share of the
taxes as they pay in common with Ia
borers; and this is wrong, because the
landlords ought to pay every dollar of
the taxes. since they have already col
Iected them Let the public revenue be
collected solely out of ground rents,
and the laborers will be entirely deliv-
cred from the burden of taxation. From
more than that no human power can
deliver them.
Here it viii be asked, as usual: Can
not landlords increase their rent. if it is
taxed, so as to make the laborers still
pay the taxes over again?" No: it is
impossible. Landlords now collect all
the rent which it is possible for them to
get If all OF it were taken away by
taxation. they could not collect it sec
ond time Suppose the average laborer,
earning $500 year (which is a large al
lowanee), pays 800 for ground rent
Suppose the state takes all of this from
the landlord, and then demands another
500 from the tenant and gets it. The
state then takes 800 from the landlord.
and he demands $500 from the tenant;
and suppose-which is impossible-and
he gets it. Still the state takes the
$500 from the landlord: and he de-
mands s400 from the tenant OBJ
viously the tenant would be re-
iuced to starvation. Still. suppose
that the landlord gets it, just once.
The state again takes it all from him,
and now he demands $500 from the ten
ant whose whole income is only $500.
How can he make the tenant pay it?
The tenant would be dead long before
this point was reached: and all other
tenants, being subject to the same ex-
tortion. would be dead also. No one
would be left alive. except a few land
lords and tax-gatherers- Rent and tax
es would be alike extinct So far from
landlords being enabled to increase
rent. in consequence of a heavy tax on
rent. they would become more eager
competitors for tenants, because they
could not afford to keep any land out of
use. The idea that tax upon ground
rent can be shifted upon the tenant is
one of the most absurd that ever en-
tered the brain of intelligent men
The single tax upon ground rental
values is, plan which will relieve the
laboring classes from all taxes, other
than their present rent: and no wit of
man can devise any plan which will re-
lieve them from anything more