The Washington herald., 1922-03-08

plying to every article or thing
sold. For example:
BE ii enacted that on and after
January l. 1929. there shall be
levied as a direc: tax. to be paid
into the Treasury OF the United
States. through the collectors Of
internal revenue, a sales tax of
one-half Of 1 per cent of the price
Of the article or thing sold, 'ex-
changed, bargained for. or con-
veyed. said tax to be assessed and
collected in addition TO and not be
included in the price of the article
or thing sold: provided that the
tax herein provided for shall NO;
apply TO gross sales OF $1,000 or
less per month, or $1,000 or less per
year. by persons or uNncorporated
companies engaged exclusively in
the production OF. or sale at retail
OF foodstuffs; provided. further, thar
said tax of one-kalf Of 1 per cent
shall not apply TO sales by indI-
Niduals where the price OF the ar
tcle or thing sold. exchanged, bar =
gained for, or conveyed. does nos
exceed $500, Any violation of this
act or attempt at evasion of An,
OF the provisions thereof shall be
deemed a misdemeanor. and every
person found guilty thereof shall.
upon conviction, be punished with
fine Of $1,000 and suffer imprison.
ment for one year for each any
every offsnse."
Wherein would a sales tax of this
kind work an injustice upon the
laboring man or the person Of small
means? Is anyone so unsophistf-
Gated as to believe that present in
come manufacturers. excess profits.
and the hundred and one special
taxes. are not passed on to the con-
sumer? That manufacturers and
others in business will not figure
taxes in arriving at a selling price
and fix such prices sufficiently high
to take care. and then some, of
taxes? The tax is paid by the ul-
innate consumer, but he don't sec
II. In the sales tax. it is added in
his bill as a separate item. and he
can be assessed no more than the
percentage authorized by law. The
man OF small means can be assessed
I
he is not penalized for his thrift as
is now the case with income taxes.
On earnings of $1,000, IL he spends
his entire income, he would paw IS
per year. As however. fully 20 per
cent OF the ordinary workingman's
expenditures can be classed as for
foodstuffs, exempted from tax. the
man Of $1,000 income would nav
less than So tax per year. while
corporations. like the L. s. Steel
Company. the large rubber corpora
tions. whose expenditures for raw
materials run into billions Of dol
lars annually. would pay taxes
amounting to hundreds Of millions
of dollars. Granting that a sales
tax is pyramided. at a maximum in
cluding manufacturer. jobber, whole
saler' and retailer, with a middle
man and a commission Vman added
for good measure. the ultimate tax
could not exceed , per cent of the
price of the article sold.
Furthermore, a general sales tax
would touch a source that now pro-
vfdes no revenues whatever and
that Is the millions Of shares OF
stocks and millions OF dollars OF
bonds that change hands daily on
the stock exchanges. Since January
1. the total aggregate sales, Of
stocks and bonds on the New York
Exchange has been in excess of
$2,000, 100000. In less than two
months a sales tax would have
raised sufficient revenue from this
source alone to pay any bonus that
may be levied, Who are the owners
today of Liberty bonds and other
tax-exempt securfties?- Why? why
should men of wealth engage in the
hazards of business when present
tax laws invite tax-exempt invest
ments, freedom from worry and the
opportunity to engage in specula-
tive transactions free from taxes.
II there are any practical reasons
why q sales tax is not workable or
any real grounds why such a tax
would work an injustice on the
average citizen. they have not been
presented. OF course a sales tax
will never appeal to persons blind
ly prejudiced~ in favor Of class leg
islation. but is the only tax that is
equitable and paid by every citizen
in like proportion upon the amount
he spends.
Submitted for the consideration Of
our readers OF the Open Court let
ter column our friends Of o. o. NJ,
whose lively write-ups will be 'lit-
erature" fifty years from now. leg
islators worried with tax legislation
problems. and the general public.
interested in lower price levels, by
reason of less and more simple
means of taxation.