The herald., 1897-04-12
WHO PAYS THE TAXES P

can party that the foreigner who ships
goods to the United States. pays the
taxes. Even President Mckinley has
committed himself to this absurd va
gary. The arguments to sustain the
Richmond negro's idea of the earth be-
ing a fiat stone are lucid and persuasive
compared to those used by the Repub-
licans who claim that the foreigner pays
our taxes. If this theory be correct,
then we should levy high tariff on
every article from abroad and thus make
foreigners pay all the expenses OF the
government. The Mckinley bill would
never have had a free list, admitting
hundreds of millions of foreign goods,
which, if they had paid tariff, would
have given much revenue toward sup
porting the government. if the tariff was
paid by the foreigner. When the Will
son bill proposed to put revenue tax
on sugar. some Republicans then de-
clared that it was an outrage to tax the
poor by levying duty on sugar. Now
il the growers of sugar in Brazil or CUBA
pay the taxes on this sugar, then the
consumer would not have it ado ed to the
cost of his sugar. If it be fact that
foreigners pay the tax, and as the aver
age duty on all imported goods under
the Mckinley bill was 47ls per cent
then all sellers of foreign goods must
have reduced their home prices to our
importers. at an average of 471a per
cent. Every one who has the slightest
knowledge of the actual cost of pro-
duction in foreign countries knows that
thew cannot and will not sell to us on
so much better terms than ts their own
home consumers.
Is the trade of the United States so
important to foreigners as to be pur-
chased by them at such price? If the
foreigner does pay the duties levied by
the United States, it must follow that
he does it either by selling his goods to
our importers at the cash price of the
goods in the foreign market, less the
tariff duty on the goods, or that ne
sells them for the best market price and
then generously tenders to the pur-
chaser sterling exchange or gold to pay
the duties when they enter the custom
house. In either event the government
gets the revenue, but these goods are
bonded at a cost to the importer less.
by the amount of such tariff, than they
would have cost had the market price
abroad been paid with the regular tariff
added.
Practically, so far as the home manu-
facturer is concerned. these goods are
free goods and by this means all the
goods on which the tariff has been paid
by the foreigner are put into competi-
tion with our home products; thus,
while getting revenue for the support of
the government, still realizing the bene-
fits of absolute free trade. The fact that
importers thus manage to get their goods
in our markets without personally pay
ing the tariff duties does not insure
cheap goods to the consumer, for when
the goods are once entered at the GUS
tom house, prices will be regulated by
the inevitable law of supply and de-
mand. Were it not that this sophistical
theory has adherents who lay claim to
some knowledge of finance and trade
the whole theory would be beneath
criticism.
Every tax, including first cost. the
cost of manufacture, freight storage
commission, drayage and merchants
profits are added to the BILL and these
are all paid by the consumer.
There are perhaps a few people, who
having never seen federal tax collector
believe they pay no taxes on the goods
they consume. They can see the county
collector a half mile away, but they
have but little dread of the federal col
lector.
In order that each one of us may real
ize the fact that he does pay his proper
tion of the national taxes, let us suppose
the government should abolish all its
custom houses and should order the