Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1919-02-07
Taxes Will Be Heavier.
From the Baltimore Sun.

!
There will be some srumbling when the
new tax bills are presented. for the city.
the State and the nation will need more
money to keep things running. One of
the bieg est sources of revenue of all three
have been cut off. or will be when the
whole nation goes dry on July next, and
that money must be made up somehow.
Just what new things will be found to tax
or on what things the tax will be increased
no one knows at this time, but everybody
knows where the money is coming from.
1t is coming out of the pockets Of the great
American people, who have decided that
booze is bad thing. an invention of the
devil; that the traffic is crime, and that
to receive revenue from the traffic is to
share the profits of crime, and therefore
to become partner in the crime itself.
Fine reasoning. but likely to prove expen-
sive.
OF course, all the drys-all of those who
have been preaching in season and out of
season about the evils Of lQuor--will pay
their increased taxes with glad hearts.
It's worth the price to them to see those
hardened sinners who positively would not
be converted to their way of thinking be-
ing forced into the ways of righteousness
against their will, and to be made to pay
heavier taxes for doing it, but those who
are viewing the prospects Of long. long
drought with alarm will set up on awful
howl.
For the city has 100000 or more that
it must make up 1t got that much from
the liquor licenses and the State must find |
additional things on which it can lay new
taxes to the extent of at least 100000
to make up for what it will lose from the |
Baltimore liquor licenses alone. The drys |
intimate that the city will save its million |
on its police force, for with liquor done |
away with and the saloons closed there |
will be but little need for policemen. The /
city will be so good and so moral and so
orderly that nobody will think of misbe-
having.
But, on the other hand, it is also inti-
mated that the police force may have to
be increased to enforce the new law, and
that instead of saving there, there will be
additional expenditure. Aside from what
the city will lose in direct revenue from
the licenses there will be decreased tax
on the brewers and distilleries as going
concerns and on their stocks of beer and
liquors and their equipment. Altogether
the saloon licenses and the decreased taxes
on brewsries and distilleries and stocks
will mean from % to rs cents on the city
tax rate and from 4 to 7 cents on the
State tax rate.
Just how this is to be made up is wor-
rying the city and State officials.
The Government will have to make up
approximately half million dollars to re-
place revenues formerly received from the
internal revenue taxes. Last year the
Government collected S443, 1884 from
the brewers and distillers throughout the
country. OF this amount the brewers paid
S124,264.753. while the distillers came
across with $319.574.791. Last year up
TO June 30th there were collected in the
Maryland district alone $17.226,7l1 from
the brewers and distillers. of which 49,
062.855 came from the brewers and $14,-
1886 came from the distiers, while in
the six months ended December 81 the
dstillers in this district paid $9,725,677.
while the brewers paid $1.374020.
There is some considerable amount Of
money to be made up from other sources.
1t means that more Of the necessities Of
life will have to be classed as luxuries and
taxed accordingly. but no one seems to
have clear idea as to what is to bear the
extra taxes.
But are the Federal officials who have
to collect these additional taxes worrying
about themi Not in the least They are
perfectly complacent. All those of this
district will say about 1t is that when the
Government tells them what to tax they
will tax it, and see to il that the tax bills
are paid Theirs not TO reason why,
theirs but to do and die, etc. The increase
in the Federal tax rate doesn't worry them
a mite. Perhaps. some of this compla-
cency on the part Of the local internal rev.
eDue officials may be due to the fact that
both Collector Miles and Deputy Collector
Milborne are from the Eastern Shore-from
Somerset and the Eastern Shore is Off |
cially dry. and being loyal Eastern Shore
men they think-o fficially, Of course-as
their section thinks. But, any way. neither |
of them is worrying about what will have |
to bear new taxes. Whatever it is it will
have to pay.
Both are perfectly willing to let the fell |
low who has to pay the taxes do the wor-
rying. They have other things to think
about.