Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-25
FOR AN INCOME TAX.
The President Said to Favor This
Method.
When Ii Was Tried I'm This Country
Once Before-Enect of Its Work.
fngs Among European Nations.

Written for The Evening Star.
The proposition of the ways and means
committee TO impose tax on all personal
incomes over S. 500 or $4,000 renders peril
nent some facts touching our past expert
ence with an income tax
The only period in which this government
ever exacted an income tax was between the
years 1852 and 1871. The tax was an
important money-raising feature of the
Morrill, tariff law, and during its con-
tinuance. in various modified forms, IL
brought into the federal treasury about
S50oO0.OO0. The original provision tax
ed all incomes. wages included. amount
ing to over 5000 year at 3 per cent and
all incomes over $4,000 at per cent This
was changed In 1865 when incomes rang
ing from 5000 to 5000 were taxed at per
cent and those above 5000 at 10 per cent
In 1867 the law was again altered, and all
incomes above $1,000 were taxed at 5 per
| cent. At the same time the exaction of the
] tax was limited in operation to the year
1870. except in the case of those who might
be willing to pay it longer. In that year.
however, the rate was reduced to l-2 per
cent on 5000 incomes and over, but in
practice its further collection became a
farce throughout the years 1871 and 1872,
as nobody paid II unless he cared TO.
A successful effort was made to wipe out
the income provision of the revenue law in
the Forty-second Congress During the con-
sideration of the repeal measure the COM
missioner of internal revenue. Gen. Pleasan-
ton, under whose supervision the collection
/ OF the tax was prosecuted, expressed these
| views in a communication TO Congress:
The tax is one of the most obnoxious to
the people. being inquisitorial in it's nature
| and dragging into public view an exposition
q ~ mi ffofr c.afsl h..
citizen. Such an unwilling exposition can
only be compulsorily effected through the
maintenance of the most expensive ma
chinery, and both the nature OF the tax and
the means necessarily employed for its en-
| forcement appeal to be regarded by the
| better class of citizens with more and more
that the evils more than counterbalance
the benefits derived from its longer reten-
ton"
Close Vote on Repeal.
In both House and Senate the repeal was
carried by a margin of only one vote, and
even then became a fact only in the closing
hours of the short session Of Congress end
ing March 3. 1873. In the Senate the vote
stood 26 to % and in the House los to IO4
On the final vote the Senators favoring the
repeal were Senators Anthony, Bayard,
Cameron. Carpenter. Conkling. Fenton. Nc
Donald. Sumner, Thurman and TrumbuIl.
Among those who opposed the repeal were
Senators Abbott, Blair. Brownlow. Hamlin.
morrill,, Sherman and Sprague In the House
of Representatives Congressman Randall
led the opposition TO the repeal as did Sena-
tor Sherman in the Senate.
People here who claim to know whereof
they speak state that President Cleveland
is greatly interested in the question. and
is preparing to .embody some strong
recommendations in behalf OF an tn
come tax in his forthcoming message TO
Congress. To this end ne is said to be con-
try. of lsshades of opinion, and is es-
pecially impressed with the views Of David
A. Wells, special commissioner, who ad-
ministered the income tax from 1867 TO 1870
and OF ex-Secretary of the Treasury George
S. Boutwell, both of whom are known TO
advocate the restoration of an income tax
In this connection IL is interesting TO OBJ
serve the effect of income taxes abroad. In
Saxony and Prussia they are now relied on
| as principal sources of revenue. The popu-
lar notion is that the largest part Of the
| income taxes is paid by the poor, but I'm
Saxony and Prussia, at present the facts
are otherwise. In Saxony incomes of less
than 800 marks, equivalent TO s71.40 (the
mark being nearly equal to "a cents) are
not taxed at all, while in Prussia incomes
under 900 marks (or s21420 are exempt
Above these figures small incomes pay one
half of one per cent. while large ones pay
as high as 3 per cent In Saxony and per
cent in Prussia.
How 1t Works.
marks Tor s11e) pays only "a cents tax. or
one-fifth OF one per cent A s2.Ooo-mark
income yields a tax OF s7.14-thirty times as
much as that of an income one-fourth as
great. Again, a 4000-maIk income, instead
OF yielding double the tax OF the 20O0-mark
income, pays only about one and one-half
times much. The highest rate g per
cent? is made applicable alike 20 all incomes
above the 12,0o0-mark limit. notwithstand-
| ing the fact that there are incomes in Sax
| 100000
The total number of persons who paid the
income tax In Saxony last year was $685.
6S6 Their combined incomes were assessed
at 1,4449s2II7 marks COR s343. 900. saS 75C.
| The tax gathered amounted to 10 267 697
marks COR 81, $50, I'LL 49, OF the whole !, $685.
6s6 persons taxed 10 per cent had incomes
| the Kingdoms revenue amounted to 3 liz
per cent of the total income tax paid. The
remaining "a 1-2 per cent was paid by the
more comfortable and wealthy class. OF
this "a 1-2 per cent 90 per cent was paid by
people of moderate incomes, however, rang
ing between $1,000 and s7s5.40 a year.
In collecting income taxes In Saxony and
Prussia everything is considered as income
which, as money money value, comes
annually into the credit side OF every taxed
persons account. For example II a man
| renting purposes is reckoned part OF his
income Likewise the products of his own
| laDOf uSeu IN MS own houSehold, as IN the
cases of farmers and manufacturers, after
deducting, of course, interest on debts. in
surance, repairs, &c. The principal sources
| of the income taxes there, however,
| leased lands. houses. rents. interest on CAPT.
tai, dividends on stocks. annuities, salaries
and pensions.
An informal census just taken here of the
views of newspapers on the question of an
income tax in the United States shows that
! the entire republican press, or, at least
with exceedingly few exceptions, is opposed
| to the proposition, while the democratic
| press is divided, a larger portion, however,
! being In favor of the proposed tax. Most
| of the democratic newspapers that are pub
lished I'm large centers of wealth and Inc
dustry oppose the measure. while the great
| body of country newspapers advocate IL.
] This latter class is indefinitely greater nu-
merically than the sum total of the demo-
cratic metropolitan journals, but their COM
| bined circulation is, perhaps, not much
larger.
no. hra n n A.