Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-15
$3.50, but II he pays more than s160 he II
taxed per cent on the whole sum.
Income Taxes.

$50, but If he pays more than SEQ he ~
taxed y per cent on the whole sum.
Income Taxes.
Almost all taxes here are based on In
comes or rents. Business property Is taxed
8 per cent of the amount for which it rents.
and. If 1t is idle 1t Is not taxed at ALL II a
store or house burns down the tax on the
land stops from that moment, and il q
factory stops work its tax stops. Every
loom in the silk mill pays a tax while it Is
working but IL 1t is broken or becomes idle
the tax officials ara notified and the tax Is
not collectible,
In Lyons ali buildings are free from tax
alton for two years after their erection, no
matter whether they are rented or not. This
is to stimulate building and to enable the
owner to get back something of the first
cost
The policy Of the government is to make
every man pay taxes in proportion TO the
beneht he receives, and this policy extends
to the smallest Of such benefits. For this
reason every chair and table which 10
placed on the pavement outside store or
restaurant must pay LIS tax. Sometimes
cafes and restaurants thus monopolize the
whole street, but the people do not grumble, I
for they know the owner is paying for the
privilege.
Big Stores and Their Street Sales.
Every plant set out on the street pays a
tax, as well as every counter for the sale
OF goods. Many Of the large department
stores of Paris and other cities use the
streets during bright days to show goods
and sell them. The wares are spread out
upon tables and the clerks stand there and
hawk them out to passersby. When the
goods are so displayed the merchants are
taxed, but when taken in they are not
charged.
There are such counters about the Bon
Marche and Au Printemps, two of the
largest stores Of Paris. and also about a
great department store near the Hotel de
Vile. Some stores have movable counterss
on wheels, as large and as long as the
counters inside, which are pulled out dur.
ing the shopping hours and pushed in at
night, thus increasing the working space
about 50 per cent. The Bazaar of the Hotel
de Vile has three sides facing the streets,
and its pavements are filed with goods. 7
looked over the counters and found many
American articles. There were cheap
watches, carpenter tools from New EngA
land, American ink and American canned
fruits. As waited the bell rang for Gloss
ing the store, and the clerks showed the
counters from the street inside. and with
in five minutes the great building was sur.
rounded by blank walls Of steel. which had
dropped from above covering the windows.
The next day was rainy, and when / came
past the store at noon the business was all
inside, and l was told that no tax was col.
lected, except for such times as the street
used.
1t takes an army of officers to collect such
taxes and hence France has large offices
holding class. There are families of pro-
fessional officeholders who feed at the pub
lie crib from generation TO generation, be<
ing backed by political influence.
Legalized Lotteries.
In France even government bonds ara
taxed. but nearly every issue has d lottery
attachment. City and municipal bonds bear
low rates of interest, but there are always
her of ed Wi mi
and the lottery element is as great an at
traction as the investment itself The Parls
exposition bonds were issued in this way,
as were also those of the exposition of 1889,
Lotteries are instituted for all sorts of pur-
poses and generally patronized. They
are operated fairly, and the prizes some-
times go to the rich and sometimes to the
poor. A coachman at Lyons lately drew
100000 francs, or $4,000, and the Rothschild
brothers more recently got $4,000 from
tickets in a lottery organized for the sup
port of INDECENT artists. The othchilds re4
fused to take the money. and gave it over
into the hands of Coquelin, the French
actor, who had charge of the fund.
Small Bonds for the United States.
The United States would never permit its
government bonds to be issued with a lott
terry attachment. 1t Is contrary to our ideas
Of the right. But there many things
outside this which the French can teach
us as to handling our finances. They know
how to keep their own debts among their
own people and when they annually pay
out 81 per head in interest they have the
satisfaction of knowing that 1t all goes ba ck
into France Their bonds are of such q
nature that every French family, however
poor owns some of them. This might be
done in America IL our bonds were In small
denominations and 1t would undoubtedly
tend to bind our people more closely togeth-
er and to make them better citizens and
more enthusiastic patriots.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.