The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-12-13

high or low. In All places whore tho
intelligent and The virtuous citizens take
no interest In government. there win
be unwisc legislation and unjust laws.
so form your laws As 10 make an fcal
| All interest. and tho vigilance 81 tho
| people will then require wise Hesitation
| and lust enforcement.
Ia Income Tax Inquisiforiale
| How can yon find out what a man has
! for taxation without inquiry? How, wouId
| you know what n tax tho merchant. tho
| lawyer, the physician. the distiller? Tho
tarih Is inquisitorial too. When a cit-
zen returns home from abroad his bag
gage Is searched. Skilled detectives. male
| and female. are I'm the custom house IN
! open the trunks OF all, and even examine
! their persons, fearing that something may
| escape being taxed, but no one urges this
as any objection 10 the tariff Hogs.
| horses, cattle household and kitchen fur
niture. are all faxed according 10 their
| value. How can you discover the prop
| crty and ascertain IT'S value except by
| inquiry? If you were TO release from
| taxation all property which could not be-
| discovered, except by diligent inquiry. |
fear the revenues Of tho State would soon
| fall far short OF the demands upon its
! resources.
Tncome-How Ascertained.
This IS matter which must bc dill
! gently inquired into, and a law should
! be framed after the results and eXncri-
| ences i'm other States and countries have
! been carefully examined There are many
| modes Of discovering incomes. one is TO
| make an examination Of the taxpayer
under oath. and not allow a man To make
| his own ase ssment Some OF the States
! require the oath OF the officer 10 each
| assessment. Another plan Is to allow tho
/ officer TO make assessments, and If the
| taxpayer is not satisfied he can appeaI
| and show the assessment is erroneous
| Another is 10 have a special grand Jury
| examine and say what would be Il fair
assessment Of the income OF each man
| who excerpts to the assessment made by,
| the officer
The difficulty has been exaggerated. and
| the failure TO get a correct return "a due
| I'm great part 90 the negligence Of the
| commissioner of the revenue. and II some
penalty was attached 10 his failure 10
| do his duty. commensurate with the inn
portance OF tho subject. am sure that
| the increase or revenue from this source
would be great.
Corporations.
Corporations. as well as individuals
should pay a fair income tax. and when
a reasonably graded income tax has been
required Of all, II would not be heavy
! for those who have IL 20 pay. and yet IL
would relieve people and property Of an
onerous burden. Some. complaining OF
taxes. say they are too high. This COM
plant Is moi unreasonable in many cases
Many taxpayers surrender 10 the officer
all OF their property. with a fair valua-
ton imposed upon IT, To such IT is a
burden. because they pay more than a
fair share. as so much property goes UNI
taxed and some not sufficiently taxed.
but a fair assessment upon all, Will light
en- the burden and make the tax easy.
This is what / am labOring for; ii Will
make the people COntented. and their
burdens equal and light. We have In
this state enough wealth, II fairly as
sessed, TO reduce greatly the rate Of
taxation. and with a conservative and
economical administration Of the affairs
Of the State have all the means we need
TO support the schools and colleges, to
pay the expenses Of government and the
interest on the public debt. and TO give
a reasonable pension to every one OF our
disabled soldiers. But to do this, YOU
must reach the untaXed-because undis-
covered--resources OF the State, and see
TO IT that a fair assessment is placed
upou their values, and your tax from
being among the highest imposed IN any
of the States, may be reduced TO about
| the lowest.
what Income should be Taxed.
All income should he taxed. TO pre-
serve the principle, but il should be mere
/ " nominal until you reach 5000. AFTER
| that the rate of taxation should increase
| as the income increases. IL is restricted
en- Virginia to incomes derived from IN
! terest and profit This Is wrong. 81
should be levied on all incomes, regardless
Of the source from which u is derived.
| There should be no increase OF privileged
propertv. II increases the difhculty OF
ascertaining that which should be taxed,
end furnishes another objection 10 the
law. A tax on property is tax on Things.
A piece of land. as SUCH pays tax ac-
cording TO its value. ii matters not VINO
owns it or what is its value. An income
tax is strictly a personal tax. The law
should ask. how much income has mis-
person? II is regardless Of any particular
source from which It is derived. 1t in
cludes all sources.
Railroad Taxation.
our law on the subject Of railroad taxa
tiou Is the result of much deliberauoh'
still there are complaints as TO the man
ner Of assessing the various roads oil our
state and the amount of taxation TO De
exacted from them.
The Constitution requires that they
should be taxed according 10 their values
ascertaining their values per mile Inere
are however grave doubts whether this
&c the fairest method of ascertaining their
taYable value The same trouble which
has been discussed with reference 10
other subjects arises here. Their cost
per mile cannot be a fair criterion by
which to judge OF their values though
ii is one circumstance by which 20 test It's
accuracy. Its earnings would be another.
Then what earnings? Its net or its gross
earnings? There IS a difference Of opinion
ON this subject, each Of these modes hav-
ing been tried in various States.
There is but little uniformity on this
subject. The railroads have received
valuable rights and privileges from the
people. and in return they confer great
benefits by extending and developing the
business OF the State through which they
pass. thus making property more valuable
and residence in the country more desira-
bic. They indicate prosperity and pro-
gress. On their lines you Will see evil
dences OF thrift and energy which viii
be sought i'm vain in localities remote
from them. Villages spring up and new
towns and cities are built and the old
ones increase in wealth and prosperity.
Every reasonable indulgence should be
extended to railroads until their business
connections have been well established
Then they should be compelled TO bear
their full proportion of the public burden.
Like assessments on other property. their
values will be changing. according TO the
amount of business they are doing, and
what is a fair assessment to-day may
after few years of business success
prove insufficient for their just proper