The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1904-12-29
A Primer of Taxation

ming OF economic and financial Wis
dom. In no other way can public ques-
lions be mastered or vote intelligent
" cast than by understanding how and
why governments forcibly take from
you part of your earnings and hand
It over to others. Upon equity in tax
alton depends individual prosperity and
national honor Nothing is SO astound-
ing as the utter ignorance of the aver
age voter upon this most important
of questions.
We will here refer to only few Of
the undisputed laws of taxation-nat-
ural laws. which man is powerless to
repeal or modify. .s
A tax on land values or other forms
Of special privilege can not be shifted
to tenants or to consumers by higher
prices, but invariably falls upon the
owner as landlord.
On the contrary. tax OF any product
Of labor or commodity can be and
usually is shifted to consumers in high
81 prices or to laborers in lower wages,
often some to each. the laborers being
also consumers. Only by higher prices
can the producer get the money to pay
I the tax and SO continue to produce.
OF course these higher prices lessen
consumption and thereby lessen pro-
duction and employment. Thus we tax
dogs and liquor sellers to lessen their
number. or any commodity made by
labor to restrict it's production. I'm
F less the supply has been decreased to
raise the price the producer would lose
xX In, nf
being no way to raise prices so long
as the supply remains the same. When
windows were taxed in England the
POOR had one or no windows and the
Irich but few, so that England became
= nation of sore or weak eyes. there
was little reading and the sale OF
books fell off.
"a tax on land values, exclusive OF
Improvements, can not be shifted to
fenants nor to consumers because land
~ fixed quantity and the supply can
hot be reduced to raise the price.
While tax on wealth or cOmmOd-
He's always raises higher selling price,
tax on land value has just the oppo-
ite effect, the price of land to the
lser falling as the tax rises II the
~ on land value equals the rent that
ean be obtained for it there is no SELL
ng value, the selling value being the
capitalized rent. or eighteen to tWen-
" years rent. plus it's probable adj
ance in value.
OF course the use value (wages OF
roduction) of land so taxed would not
Unmarried but increased by the sum
hot, nj
bat much tax levies on his labor and
lis wages of production increased by
kfe elimination of monopolies found
upon land monopoly. There would
b also a great gain to producers
trough the non-shiftable character OF
LIZ tax or rent. and by reason OF the
mailer margins of the tax for ex-
nses Of assessment and collection.
q producer and consumer he would
~ no tax and the number OF salaried
Icials supported by taxation would
reduced to one-tenth the present
dmber.
IA tax on public utilities, as steam
electric railways. water and light
ants. ETC.. is in no sense a tax on
bnopoly, the tax being shifted in
cher rates. Such tax falls on the
1ividual regardless of his ability to-
n or of any benefits he receives from
ciety, and is strictly a tax on labor,
tax for the use of highways or OF
forces of nature. Public utilities
social functions and should be.
med and operated by the people to
Fe service at cost.
raxes on money or notes and mort
res are invariably shifted to the
81 or borrower in higher interest
es. these rates being yet further in
Iased by the cost of beating the law
insuring against loss. While the
bducer pays the full cost of all this
much Of it is never collected.
Taxes on stocks and bonds are rare
collected at all and never to any
breciable extent Stocks and bonds
pieces of paper that enable their
Yrs to exact tribute from the peo-
Il they are certificates of owner
bf property which should be taxed