The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1895-05-02
INCOME TAX RULING
Text Of the Decision Rendered
by Justice Fuller
HE GOES BACK TO l77O
Taxation, Direct and Indirect, Defined
Also Municipal and State Bonds
and Securities.

opinion or Ch1ef Justice ruler IN the III
come tax. which was delivered on the
9Th inst, was made public today. The
opinion As preceded by an elaborate re-
view of the history of taxes. The pa
per is introduced with the statement
THE constitution provides that the
representative an direct taxes shall be
apportioned among the several states
according to numbers, and that no di-
rect tax shall be laid except according
to the enumeration provided also, that
representative and direct taxes shall be
uniform throughout the United States
THE man." says the opinion. who
framed the constitution had just emerg-
ed from the struggle for independence
whose rallying cry had been that taxa
ton and representation go together
The mother country had taught the col
onsts that in self-taxation consisted
the main support against oppression.
The states were careful to see that tax
alton and representation should go to-
gether. so the sovereignty should not
be impaired, and that when congress
voted a tax upon property, 1t should do
50 WIN lne CONSCIOUSNESS anu CHueT the
responsibility that in so doing the tax
SO voted would proportionately fall up
on the immediate constituents of those
who passed it. More than this. by the
constitution the states not only gave
the nation the concurrent power to tax
persons and property, directly, but they
surrendered their own power to levy
taxes on imports and to regulate COM
merce.
I'm the matter OF taxation. the con-
stitution recognizes the two great class
es OF direct and indirect taxes. and lays
down two rules by which their imposi-
ton must be governed. namely: The
rule of apportonment as to direct taxes
and the rule OF uniformity as to duties,
imposts and excses'
By far the greater part of the opinion
is devoted to the consideration of the
question whether the tax on rents Is q
direct tax within the meaning of the
constitution. Ordinarily" said the
chief justice. "all the taxes paid pri-
marily by persons who can shift the
burden on some one else, or who are
under no legal compulsion to pay them,
are considered indirect taxes, but tax
upon property holders In respect to their
estates, whether real or personal or of
income, are included by such estates.
and the payment of which can not be
avoided. are direct taxes"
Various authorities are quoted at con-
siderable length to show the process by
which the compromise by which the con-
vention delegated to congress the power
to tax the various states was arrived at.
and the chief justice adds:
1.-THE compromise In embracing the
power of direct taxation consisted not
simply in including part of slaves in
the enumeration OF the population, but
in providing that as between state and
state. such taxation should be proper
TONED to representation
RIGHT TO ASSESS.
Many quotations are also made for
the purpose of demonstrating that the
right Of the federal government to d.
rectly assess and collect Its own taxes
at least until after acquisitions upon the
states had been made and failed, was
one of the chief points OF the conflict.
Discussing the Hilton case, so fire.
Quently referred to. In which the SUI
preme court in 1874 decided that a tax
on carriages was not direct tax, the
chief justice says that each of the JUS
tees, while suggesting doubt whether
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or indirect was disnuted. but the tax
was sustained as a tax on the use and
an excise. ffth. that the original ex-
mediation was that the mower of direct
taxation would he exercised only I'm
extraordinary exigencies. and down to
August IA. 1894 this expectation has
been realized. The act of that date was
passed in n time of profound peace.
and If we assume no special exigency
called for unusual legislation and that
resort to this mode of taxation is To
become an ordinary and usual means
of supply. that fact furnishes an add
tional reason for circumspection and
care In disposing of the case.
The opinion here reviews numerous