Semi-weekly herald., 1911-06-29
THE BEST TAXES.

Whether tax is profitable to the
community depends in large degree
on whether it is annoying, difficult,
and wasteful to collect, and whether
it interferes with industry in the man
ner of its collection. The great French
economist, Colbert, is reported to have
said: "The art of taxation consists
in so plucking the goose as to pro-
cure the largest quantity of feathers
with the least amount Of squawling."
Carlyle observed that the legislators
who propose indirect taxes have as
their purpose: "That those who are
hungry should suppress those who are.
The pigs are to die-no conceivable
help for that; but we, by Gods bless
ing, will at least keep down their
squealing!" An indirect tax naturally
falls most heavily on the consumer,
since it is an addition to the price of
the article taxed, and Mr. Rockefeller
can not eat very much more than Mr..
Smith. When the manufacturer in
any line has to pay more for his raw
material the wholesaler has to pay
more, and the retailer more, and in
each case interest and profits have to
be competed on the larger amount
instead of on the smaller. Take wool
en- clothing, for example The sheep
is taxed. Later the wool is taxed in
the wholesale merchants hands. The
product is taxed in the mill as raw
material. 1t is worked up by taxed ma
chinery. 1t is dyed by taxed dye. The
cloth is then bought by the jobber
and taxed again. The merchant tailor
puts it on his shelf, and it is taxed
again. The result is, the consumer
pays several times as much as the
state receives. If we had to pay our
taxes directly we should pay less, but
as we should know what we were do
ing it would not be so easy to give
up larger amount of money for war,
past and future, than is paid by any
of the great war nations of the world.
What taxes are best? Theoretical
ly, the fairest of all is the income tax
John Stuart Mill has said of it: "The
fairness which belongs to the princi-
pie of m income tax can not be made
to attach to it in practise; and: "The
tax, on whatever principles of equality
it may be imposed, is in practise un-
equal in one Of the worst ways, falling
heaviest on The most conscientious
Mr.. Gladstone, speaking of the income
tax in 1858, declared: 81 believe it
does more than any other tax to de-
moralize and corrupt the people, Mr.
Disraeli subsequently expressed in
parliament his agreement with Mr..
Gladstone, saying: "The odious fea-
lures of this TAX can not by any means
be removed or modified
As the old story goes, a man was
asked if his father was honest, and
he said lie is honest as the world
goes. tie won't tell lie for twelve
and a halls cents, but he will tel eight
for dollar" This Willingness of the
human race TO prevaricate makes most
personal property taxes fall with par
ticular severity on widows and or
phans and all those whose estates are
in the probate offices, where they
can not escape full taxation.
The question of whether an income
tax is desirable is entirely separate
from the question whether it should
be constitutional. Certainly it is alb
surd for the constitution, in mat
ter Of this kind, to stand in the way
of The legislature, representing the
judgment of the people. There ought
to be an amendment allowing the ma
tional government to collect direct
taxes according to the income or ex-
penditures Of states, and the states
should collect their taxes ir the same
manner from the constituent bodies.
Oregon puts this principle into effect
next year. The Oregon commission
also decided that it was impossible
to get at personal property under the
present system, and that the best way
was a development Of the system Of
state taxes on corporations. This rec
ommendation, however, was not ac-
cepted.-Collier's Weekly.
0~wnn <f,vap aftor n III, ,...,, hoe