The herald., 1898-06-11
Crooked Taxation

To the Editor of the Los Angeles Herald
The Herald is perfectly correct in assum
ing that the people of the United States
art confronted by very important problems
of a political and an economic nature
which not even the excitement of the wa
with Spain should smother or force int'
the background. The perpetuity of ou
badly strained free institutions is not ser
ously endangered by any foreign foe. The
great danger is from within. Our people
can and will whip Spain within brie
period. We also can and should so compor
ourselves as a nation that no foreign pow
er can ever find just cause for disturbing
existing amicablc relations.
There are internal causes at work how
ever. that threaten the stability of popular
government in this boasted Gland of Tho
free" The powerful trusts, syndicates and
monopolistic combinations, the bond
sharks, the land grabbers, aided by lesser
embodiments of human greed under a vari-
ETY. of names, are rapidly devouring the
substance of the productive classes. for
their own further enrichment. and. by pur-
chased legislation, are bringing the masses
into condition of industrial servtude SIM
liar to that under the most effete monarchy
in the old world
One of the most oppressive features of
our present political system is embodied
in the unjust laws for purposes of taxation
and revenue. And, war or no war, these
laws should receive careful investigation
and a thorough overhauling at the hands
of the voters in every state-especially in
California.
n otnc tn I'll
other country, the people are prone to over
look the important fact that there is such
a thing as indirect, or "crooked," taxation
They seem to think that by levyng heavy
taxes on few rich individuals, firms and
corporations, the tax burden of the masses
will be correspondingly lessened. This is a
grave error. Generally speaking, the re-
verse is the case. Whenever we tax those
who are engaged in supplying the public
with articles of common utility, we indi-
rectly tax the consumers. In almost every
case the producers easily find a way tc
shift the tax on to the users of those ar
ticles, whatever they may be- This is true
of tariff taxes, personal property taxes
business license taxes, and especially of all
taxes upon companies and corporations
that control natural resources, because
such owners are monopolizers of elements
which all human beings have an equal nat
ural right to use. In the last analysis the
consumers-the users-are the persons who
pay those taxes.
There is one tax, however, that can never
be shifted. That is tax on land values, r.
respective of improvements. Here the ele-
ment of cost in production is never known
as there is no such thing as producing
land 1t is already here; there is enough
for each and all; the quantity can neither
be increased nor diminished; the value at
tached to land is community made value
and therefore it should be taken for COM
munity purposes. That fund is sufficient
for the general government and for all To-
cal governments, for all legitimate eX-
penses, either in peace or in war, without
taxing the productions of individual in
dustry or imposing burdens upon honest
wealth producers and consumers.
RALPH HOYT.