BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-09-10

|lSu|QI Competition win
P|h0|e Enterprise
Study In False Economy.
Who Will Pay The Taxes?

The Executive COunclI yesterday
the schedule of special license
taxes which the municipality of San
Tuan proposes to levy on private indus
trv in the city, in order to make up a
possible deficit of about $4,000. 1t was
argued in the Council, and. with reason,
that the municipality had no resources
left to itself in case deficit should oc-i
cur, other than this right to levy a.
special tax that is, licensing the various
branches of industry in which the.
people may be engaged.
It would be useless to argue that:
this taxation is unjust or illegal tor
the courts Of the various states have
again and again sustained this system
of taxes, and in several states of the
Union we may find private commercial
establishments taxed to aid in the sup
port of the body polite In fact, some
economists have insisted that there IS
no better way to get at the taxpayer
than to levy assessments against his
own immediate occupation, or particular
branches of industry are taxed according
to classification Of first, second and
/ third class concerns, just as the land tax
| is directed against first, second and third
class lands. On the whole the taxation
| is fair, and there should be very little
deposition to the payment of it.
Printing establishments, lithographic
concerns and paper houses are included
! in this schedule; There is a tax Of
from one hundred to one hundred and
| fifty dollars on esch and every one Of
these establishments which are located
within the municipal jurisdiction of San
Jaaf1.
To the payment of this tax or any
other the. printing houses have never
for an instant made any objection. This
tax and the ordidary land tax have been
paid without mllrmur. 1t has been
held to be lawful assessment for the
purposes of government, and there has
never been any desires to shirk or avoid
the responsibilities Of it.
Left beyond inclusion however in this
list of special license taxes and also
beyond the inclusion Of the regular land
tax or any other tax which may be as.
sessed by the government, insular or
local, is the government printing office.
Free from the payment of any taxes
whatsoever this establishment operated
by the government is set up in direct
Opposition to tax paying private enter
|prises, which by reason of the nature of
affairs on the island and the necessa-
|rily limited field Of operation, are conn
PEELED to depend to great degree on
the patronage of the government.
No one will deny or attempt to dis
prove the fact that the government it.
self, upon which devolves the duty Of
encouraging private enterprise, is
throttling it in its very birth. Printers
have no inducements for coming to
Porto Rico One field for private invest
ment is sealed. The largest field of activi-
ty, the government, has been removed,
and these ablishments, some of them
large, very large taxpayers, are compel.
led to depend on the small amount Of
business which may be obtained from
the commercial concerns in the island
We may take for example the BoLE-
TIN MERCANTILE. This establish shinentI
on an average Of about one
people at all times Of the year.
When there is extra work on hand
there are full ssice that number Of mem
working night and day in the printing, I
binding and lithographing establish-i
lnent While It cannot be said thatI
the government work entirely supports
The establishment, still this work hasl
tended materially to keep a large num-
Der of men at work ID the various bran.
ehes of the business.
Now suppose for moment that the
BoLETIN were compelled to reduce this /
nunbeT by at least three quarters, it |:
stands to reason that the people of this
sland would suffer relatively lust as |.
much as the proprietors of the BoIErINI
MEkcANTIL The BoLETIN assessmentI'
Toald naturally have to be reduced toll
agree with the earning capacity, and /,
he workmen thrown ont 1of employ I,
rent would bsc5nle charges on theI;
Immunity until such time as they'll
night obtain unemployment
All this competition all this desire TO