Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1935-10-24
Problems of Independent Merchants

secretary of the Minnesota Retail
Hardware Dealers, who has been one
of the leading spirits in the Mime
sofa Council of Retail Trade Associa.
tions, in letter to all the hardware
dealers in Minnesota comments as
follows:
The interests of the retailer must
always concern itself with the inter
ests of his customers. If the Gus
toner pays a sales tax, the cost oil
living automatically goes up. There
can be no other result. He will
therefore buy less in order to keep
within his income.
1.-The sales tax falls heaviest on the
poor man. The man with a $4,000
income or less has to spend all OF
his earnings for the necessities OF
life. On the other hand, the man
with a $4,000 a year income, whose
living expenses amount to $4,000,
$4,000 Of which is spent for rent, etc.,
would pay tax of approximately
$3.50 per year on $4,000, or on less
than half of his income You can
readily see, therefore, that the man
of limited income pays 2% on every
thing, whereas the man with a large
income on an average will pay less
than @. Thus the low income man
pays the sales tax at rate almost
twice that paid by the high income
man. The rate becomes more dis
eliminating as the size of incomes
increases.
The rich land owner and the cor
pOrations in the cities will get the
real benefits from the sales tax, be-
cause the tax on what they buy at
retail will be nothing in proportion
to the proposed saving on their real
estate taxes. 1t is significant that
these interests have been permitted
a favorable hearing before the Taxa
ton committees while the associa-
tions representing the small retailer
have been entirely ignored!
And what about the mail order
business? A retail sales tax encour-
ages mail order business because
goods moving in interstate commerce
cannot be taxed locally. 1t is also
advantageous to the itinerant seller
who takes orders locally for delivery
from another state"
An excellent analysis by Mr. Chris
TOPPER.
Shift Taxation to Rich.
The sales tax will be another i'm
pediment or hindrance to business as
it would be paid in the main by our
customers, who already have had
their income reduced so that it has
crippled the business of the majority
of merchants. If there is a shift Of
the burden of taxation, it should be
to the group better able to pay. The
system of taxation based on ability
to pay, as the Net Income tax or
the Inheritance tax, is the more
scientific method. The English gov
eminent has used this system with a
great deal Of success, as has also our
own federal government. We should
have a progressive tax program rath-
er than a regressive one as is being
advocated by the representatives Of
privileged groups.
The experience of retail druggists
and Independent merchants also has
been that many of such taxes in the
past have been absorbed by the re-
tailers.
A large part of the real estate in
Minnesota is owned by absentee land
lords who become the beneficfaries
Of such system and who contribute
less to the upkeep of the state. If the
farmer. the worker, and the indie
pendent merchant wish to protect
their own interest, they should use
every effort to educate their fellow
men and impress upon the members
of the legislature their opposition to
any form Of sales tax program.