The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-07-14
THURSDAY, JULY IA, 1882
More Taxes Coming

Struggling taxpayers must wonder many times when the day will come that will not find them harassed on every side by demands , from city. state. and government for prompt Payments on their tax bills. We often won- Ger that the single tax plan does not make more adherents today. We suppose it is because so few people understand the prin- eiple of the single tax and are not suffi- stiently interested to investigate Not that we are advocating it. It isn't the perfect avenue of escape from the worry of a multitude of taxes levied by overlapping government agencies that its propounders declare it to be. It has its good and bad points just as our existing systems of taxa ton.
 The tax situation in Connecticut is not 2 much different than that in the other states. Waterbury's troubles are similar to those in hundred other cities. But of late years there has been concerted movement to cor rect some of the evils to which we have fallen heir. Everybody is agreed that real estate is bearing more than its fair share of the burden. To ease this burden. though. s requires more than few magic passes of the wand In the first place our legislators and officials aren't decided in which direc- ( tion we should turn for more equitable dis fribution of the tax burden. Of course. regardless of which way they decide upon. it will De the man in the street who continues to pay.
 The Connecticut Agricultural Tax Com mittee has been studying the situation in this state for several years now and has rec ommendations to lay before the 1893 Leg islature. It believes that general retail sales tax would increase the states income sby S8,000,000 annually. It also is in favor of small personal income tax and one cent increase in the gasoline tax. Of the three proposals we Incline more to the sec ond. We think that perhaps Connecticut citizens might more readily agree to. state income tax than to the other two plans. We think that Connectieut's position as one of the three states imposing two cent gas tax should not be touched. Once we start increasing this tax there is no telling where it will end.
 If Connecticut IS unique in that she only places a two cent tax on each gallon of gasoline sold let her remain so. We do not envy those states where six or seven cents is the tax. They have. their problems brought down upon them simply by these high taxes. Bpotleg gasoline IS as much of a prob lem to state enforcement agencies as boot leg liquor is to the federal government. Due to its low gasoline tax. Connecticut has thus far escaped this peril. but even mere one cent increase might bring 1t upon us. For the time being let us concentrate our efforts on other means of raising revenue. Batter still as the Connecticut Agricultural Tax Committee suggests, let us confne some efforts to strict policy of better gov- ernment in the individual towns and cities.
 The committee suggests that before new taxes are considered in which undoubtedly towns and cities would ultimatedw share. budgets should be balanced;. uniform methods of accounting and budgeting estab- lished: borrowing in anticipation of taxes eliminated; and a new assessment system established. These suggestions are worth serious consideration by all concerned and that applies to each and every citizen of the state who pays a tax. After that reform is accomplished it may not be so necessary to increase state or local revenue as many mil- lions as now seems inevitable. And perhaps in this reorganization some attention can be paid to the personal taxes that are now seoffed at SO openly by all of us.