The Somerset reporter., 1898-12-22
he War Tax.

Who PAYS the war tax? The tax law,
the Internal revenue records and infOr.
nation from those who furnish the
stamps and pay license show 1t is the
men of means-the men who have capt.
tai in business, great corporations, own
ers of capitalized Industries, those who
deal in securities and handle large sums
of money. Under the tax law the revc-
nue. flows from the channels of wealth,
and the greater the wealth the larger the
proportion of the tax.
This much talked about "war tax
means the daily receipt of about 81 ,000,-
900 by the national treasury. OF this
sum New York city pays $4,000. Such
debts will soon balance the Spanish war
ledger, for, though last June members
of congress talked about $500, 600, 900 war
expense, the actual amount to date has
been but little more than one-seventh
of that amount.
The treasury department is now COM
pling a report of the war tax receipts
for the first quarter, which will soon be
issued, and IN its absence figures of in
terest have been gotten from the collee-
ton of the various districts, and those
from New York, which pays about one
fifteenth of the entire tax, tell the story
of where the revenue comes from.
The figures obtained from the various
revenue collectors in New York city are
for the last three complete months, and
they show that S., $50, 900 of war tax
@as received in that time.
Nearly all the items In the present
internal revenue law were added in
June for war tax, the tax on spirits
remaining the same, while the tax on
beer aud tobacco were doubled. All OF
the many others are new.
Now comes the interesting fact, as
shown by the figures of the three months
referred to, that in New York city 81
100000 were paid for documentary
stamps alone. This is more than double
The amount paid in any other depart
ment of the tax, and the figures are out
of all proportion to those obtained from
other sections of the county on account
of the metropolis being the nations
financial, commercial and speculative
center.
This large amount means the use of
stamps on stocks, bonds, certificates of
Indebtedness, contracts for future de-
livery, bank checks and drafts, bills of
lading, telegraph and telephone mes
SdStSs COufC huC'S, lueul pollCitss
passage tickets to foreign ports and sim
liar Instruments. All of these items
come from the comparatively rch-the
banker, the broker, the man with a
bank account, the man with securieties
to sell and lands to convey, the great
moneyed corporations, travellers abroad,
men of capital and those who deal in
money and securities The poor have
very little to do with them.
Revenue Commissioner Scott estimates
that Wall street alone pays $lS, 900 Il
day of this sort of tax.
In the same three months New York
paid 1924 900 in what is known as "spe-
cial taxes" that is, tax paid by many
manufacturers and capitalized institC-
tions, by persons conducting various
sorts of amusements, and carrying on
the numerous lines of brokerage. This
tax all falls where capital exists. Where
in some instances rates and prices are
increased the increase is charged to Gus
toners who are of the moneyed class.
Then, many Of these same manufac-
turers must place stamps on their goods
and this leads us TO the proprietary tax,
of which 81, 900 was paid in New
York in the three months. This tax
covers what is known as proprietary