The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1907-11-08
TARIFF INEQUALITY
THE POOR PAY MORE TAXES
THAN THE RIGA.
Duties Levied on Necessities OF LIE
Arc Responsible for This State
OF Affairs-lmportant Reason
For Reduction.


The tariff not only protects The
trusts but It makes the poor man pay
more tariff taxes than the rich man
toes. Leaving out the fact that the
trusts are protected by the tarin for
his everybody knows who has taken
he trouble 20 Investigate the matter
il is Of still more Importance to pre-
sent the facts that show that the
many are taxed for the benefit OF the
few. As a general proposition no one
will deny that taxes should be assess
"a and paid according to income and
he amount OF property possessed By
the citizen. The person with an in-
come OF 500 a month or less should
certainly pay less taxes than one with
$1,000 month or more. and yet as far
rs tariff taxes on necessities are con.
cerned the man with the small in
coke pays as much and even more
than the man with the larger income.
because both poor and rich consume
about the same quantity OF these
taxed necessities.
The poor man has 10 buy as much
sugar as the rich man. and therefore
the tariff tax on sugar is much heavier
IN his small income than on that ~
his rich neighbor AS large families
are more usual with the poor than
with the rich. the tariff is thus stll
heavier on those less able 10 pay II
The tariff tax on refined or graduated
sugar being one and ninety-fve hun
dredths OF cent a pound equal 10
6432ea on the value OF imported sug
ar in the country where IL was pro
duced which in 1906 was 3 cents
pound. the cost OF sugar is increased
! by the tariff 10 the American con
sumer nearly . cents a pound As the
average consumption OF sugar per
capita in the United States is estimat
ed at 20 pounds, each average family
/ of FIVE persons uses $50 pounds on
which the tariff tax is s6sS per fam
1 lily on this one article OF necessity II
the family consists OF more than five
persons the tax is 81 sc more for each
extra person and is reduced the same
amount for each person less than five
in the family
I The tax 10 the poor man earning
\ SEQ a month is about one per cent Of
his wages. while the tax paid by the
rich man on an income OF $500 a
month is but one tenth OF one per
cent. and on the very rich the tax Is
so infnitesimal that II is difficult 70
compute the percentage. This one
item Of the tariff taxes paid is but a
sample of the inequality OF such in
direct taxes and is the reason the
democrats desire to reduce the tariff
and in place OF such reduction collect
n tax upon incomes.
There is another important reason
for the reduction and even the abo-
lition OF the tariff tax on such articles
as are controlled by trusts. for with
no tariff. or only enough 10 produce
revenue. the trusts will be compelled
10 reduce the price they charge for
their products. or foreign products
would be imported and compete with
the trusts and those corporations
would lose that much trade If they
did not compete with the foreign I'M
ports. Thus the price vi trust products
would fall and instead of paying five
cents q pound for sugar II would sen
for about three cents. as 1t does IN
England. and many other trust made
articles would decrease in proportion
to the reduction OF the tariff tax.
Some OF the tariff schedules are
concocted TO plumber the poor man
more than the rich in even a more di-
rect manner For instance the tariff
tax on fine quality Ions blankets Is
only about half what It is in a cheaper
grade and the poor man needs as
many blankets to keep warm as the
rich man does. and even more for his
house is not as well built or as warmly
heated