Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1917-04-27
UNIVERSITY LETTER
-sxATloI.

In view OF tbe hca1clal sta'uS OF
M;ss:ssipp. ard OF the stray being
raade OF the vhole aeid OF taxation,
Il seems 10 ne that b,fiseye view
81 TIE subject OF taxation might be
ii .nIerest aud profit
First IL may be well 10 give hAsiy
revi- II tie origin OF taxation al d
OF tho relation OF Constitutionalism
to taxation. As long as there was
ahsolutism there was no separation
OF the public funds and the private
income OF the Prince With the an
pearapoe OF responsible government
regular sources ii income were nee
essary, and il was also necessary TO
set aside these these funds to public
uses While governments were. alb
solute, no attempt was made to ind
any fair or just basis upon which to
base constitutions for the state.
The nobility were too proud 10
pay n tax. Their lives were al the
command of the Prince, but TO ask
them TO pay tax was an insult.
This meant, of course, tn IT the tax
must fall manly ON the peasant.
With the rise of the national state,
standing armies, money economy,
and finally Of responsible government
taxation had to be developed.
Fighting. formerly done BY individ-
uals. without pay, was soon done by
professional soldiers for pay. Sc
curity, which was formerly largely a
result of ones own efforts, was now
gwen by the state. Other functions
formerly performed by the individ-
ua! or left undone. were now under
taken by the state.
The state does nothing free. The
serv ce must be paid for by some
one The tax-gatherer, now rapidly
becoming some kind of legislative
assembly, more or less representa-
tive, must be able to assign some
reason for gathering the tax. (Be 1t
remembered that a tax is compulso-
ry contribution from the citizen or
subject to the state). We find the
same condition existing now. The
recent debate in Congress on the Elk
cess Profits Tax Is in point. The tax
should be paid by the one who re-
ceives the benefit of the expenditure
This sounds good.
But here difficulty arises. How
are you going to measure benefit?
Are you going to say that everyone
receives a bene6t from the govern
hent and therefore everyone should
pay tax? (The usual Justification
Oh poll taxi Are YOU going to say
that protection to life, liberty and
safety are the same to the dav-labo
er and TO the millionaire, and make
them pay the same amount of tax
for this service from the State? And
then say the millionaire receives pro-
lection TO ms property and must pay
for it, therefore the general property
tax?
The difficulty of finding measure
OF benefit and then the manifest in.
justice Of making the day laborer
pay, from his daily mite, as much as
the millionaire, from his superabun.
dance, for the same benefit even,
made nonplussed legislators seek an
other basis for his tax rates.
The millionaire is proport:onately
more able to pay tax than is the
day laborer. So we changed oul
base from benefit TO faculty. A man
man should be taxed according tC
his ability to pay.
This sounds good. 1t is good
But how are you going to measure a
mans ability to pay?s One OF three
ways Is usually hit upon.
1st. Faculty or ability depends up
on the amount of property a man
owns; thus the general property tax
again.
End. Ability depends on income.
What constitutes man S income.
Bird. Ability is best measured by
a man IS consumption. Put tax on
what he uses. BIT here we see we
run against the same trouble. Is a
man whose income is $400 year one
tenth as able to pay taxes as is the
man whose income is $4,000 year?
Is the man owning $1,000 worth OF
property one tenth as able to pay