The sun., 1894-05-13
THE PoPULIST INCOME TAX.
PROFEssIONAE LABOR AeITATORs
ALONE DEFEND IT

| Hrttain-whS It 4. Not suited te Thir
tountry-How n Oses Worked Here.
with the single exception Of Mr.. Jane,
G Carter. no public speaker outside Of the
small circle Of professional labor agitators hss
come forward to Justify or defend the Populist
income tar. tits atax not only repugnsnt TO
| all American notions OF freedom from govern
mental espionage and unnecessary interfer-
ence. but also q tar totally unsuited to q coun-
try where the chances OF business are many
and huctustinG. and the number Of fixed, sta
tionsry incomes is relatively few.
The gross income and earnings OF the peo-
pie OF Great Britain are put by MilhalL the
standard statistical authority. at fifteen hun
dred million pounds. about s7.500. 600. 900 .
| year. The income tax levied In 1892 fell on
| seven hundred and ten million pounds. about
s3.55o 900. or not one half the income and
earnings OF the people OF Great Britain. The
| strongest argument. and the most familiar
| one advanced by English writer's In support Of
the income tar. Of which England pays 81 per
| cent. Scotland 10. and Ireland q, is the fact
that IL falls generally en- the great mass OF we'll
to-do people. and is suitable to q country
where the majority Of the incomes are Of q
nearly fixed amount
| The English law OF inheritances leaves
thousands OF persons with q stated life in.
terest from q principal which is reversionary
| at their death. very large number OF Eng
| lish men and women have annuities, the ex-
act proceeds OF which an assessor can AZ to
. shilling. Leases. too. are made for q much
longer period than is the rule in the United
| States. and the proceeds In lands and build
| ings can therefore be easily fixed for q long
term. Thereare many thousands Of men in the
| public service Of Great Britain who occupy what
are practically life tenures. The amount OF
compensation 10 fixed by Law. and does not
vary except as It IL increased by the rules
| governing length Of service These men
have no other income. except from sources
equally definite which It requires no In
Quisitorial espionage to determine
The English army in active service consists
| OF $4,000 men. whereas the United States
army is limited By law to rs 900 soldiers. There
| are about 1900 " livings" in the Established
Church Of England at rates def nitely a red. and
not varying whereas the com pensation Of clsr-
gymen In the United States is fixed. generally,
By the church In which the clergyman serves,
and varies often from year to year The Gov
ernment officers In England. and more espe-
cially those which have to do with the snor-
nous colonial affairs OF the empire, are not af-
fected by political changes, as Is the case In the
United States. when thousands Of public offices
secure new incumbents as the result Of the
success or defeat OF either political party.
With the growth OF stock companies. limited,
In England the number Of small investors
whose holdings are registered has been vastly
increased. and It 10 possible therefore to as
certain. too. with defniteness and without any
undue prying or cross-examination. what IL
the revenue Of each person having money In
these stocks or funds" The national debt
OF Great Britain Is nearly four times as great
as the national debt OF the United States. and
while there is no substantial decrease in the
national British debt. the debt OF tho United
StatAa haa for aavaral h.
decline and tho interest charge upon IL grows
constantly lesa The income from this source
Ia much larger item OF the public revenue Of
Engllshmen than It is OF Am ericana
In no country Of the world. probably. is the
proportion OF fixed incomes so high as in Eng
land. which furnishes the advocates OF an in-
come tax everywhere with their only available
example Of its alleged justice and practica-
bility. In no country OF the world probably.
Is the proportion OF fixed incomes to the gross
revenue In year so small as In the United
Statea Here speculation and sudden sxpan-
sion or contraction Is the rule Of trade The |
millionaire Of to-day may be the bankrupt Of
tomorrow. A small retailer OF yester-
day is to-day. perhaps. the monopo-
lisa manufacturer. The profits OF thrift
and industry do not fall evenly in the |
United States. New elements OF wealth. |
and new fields for productive industry are be-
country continues. The enormous railroad |
system OF the United States. the shifting Of |
railroad charges. and rates which accentuate |
Its I'm mportance and mystify the Investor. per-
mits corporationl.t to pay perhaps fvs per |
cent interest In one year and to fall Short Of |
paving its running expenses the year.after.
Business In certain lines instead OF being |
protected by any fixed rules nuctuatss greatly. |
Very few Americans eIcept an almost innni- |
N m n N m haF h.r Nlv lar A.. |
have In any three successive years tho exact
same return from their labors and services
The United States is the country Of unset
tied incomes and fuctuAting values. it Is
conspicuously SO above all other countries,
and the one least suited. all other considora-
tions apart, for the equitable or satisfactory
imposition ofan income tax. such as some Eng
lish writer's are found exeusing or defending.
classification made some few years ago OF
the earnings OF Englishmen shows the number
OF incomes In excess Of nifty thousand pounds
$3.50. .00Ol to have been sevsnty-nve. The in
comes In excess Of ten thousand pounds $780,
OOOl were thousand. those In excess o,
one thousand pounds ts5. 5.OO0l were nineteen
thousand and those in excess OF one hundred
and fifty pounds ts750l to have been two hun
dred and seventy seven thousand There were.
therefore. at that time. three hundred thou
sand Englishmen who had known. definite. In
comes In excess OF $3.50
The Commissioner OF Internal Revenue In
Washington recently com puted at $50. 600 600
the probable revenue derived from the income
tax. but It would require more than a Commis-
sioner OF Internal Revenue to point out how,
with any approach to fairness or uniformity,
the income OF those Americans who may be
called upon to pay this tar could be learned.
A change In the tariff schedules ito take ao-
count OF no other itsml would AFFECT materially,
II not radically the incomes OF perhaps lOO.-
900 persons falling within the limits OF the
proposed taxed tar. Fixed incomes are al
most unknown In the United StAteA
The income tax Of 1851 fixed the rate at 8
per cent on Individual earnings In excess Of
$500. and Was justified only on the ground Of
The exiReney OF raising money for the prose-
eution OF the war. 1t Yielded less than 50 OOO.-
300 In the nrst year. The second year yielded
$50. .OOO, 600. the third uS85l s32. 900. 600, the