The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-03-28
TAXES AND YOU

Sometimes people taIkz aboHt tar
payers as IL there IS one grouI
<xhieh pays taxes and another groaI
which does not pay taxes. The di
vision Is simple. Il is easy to make
But It Is just about 100 per cen
wrong.
4 great many people think tina
because they pay no income tax ant
no real estate tax they do not PAL
taxes at all This is because thers
are two kinds or taxes: DIRECT
TAXES and INDIRECT TAXES
People realize It when they are pay
ing direct taxes on income. real es
tate or some similar item. But vers
often they are unaware OF the indi
rect taxes-taxes which are usual.
hidden.
When these hidden taxes begin &c
make themselves felt-oF when di
rect taxes begin to soar to alarming
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES begin TO thinl
about taxes and to search for some
one to pass them along to.
Very often the cry goes up
. Soak the rich Let them pay Bu;
this won't work. The rich cant pas
enough to make even a dent N the
huge deficits being piled up by ouI
various governments.
II. for example, every cent Of al
incomes over 100000 was taken by
tax collectors, it would furnish only
enough money to run Federal. state
and local governments ten days
And even II we took all incomes OF
$1,000 and over and pooled them. We
would collect only enough money &c
pay the costs OF government for less
than four months.
This is no new discovery. Law
makers the world over have known
4 for generations. In this country,
N order to make the rich bear Q
greater part OF the burden. income
axes have been boosted so that the
Federal Government now may take
nearly 76 per cent OF q wealthy
mans income. Besides. he has 70
pay state and local exaetions-
But even so. II has been impossi-
ole for tax collectors to get enough
money from the rich Far more IS
needed And because this is so.
taxation becomes the problem CT
each and every American. Unfortu-
nately. too few Of Us recognize this
fact. though It is not surprising that
We do MOTOR the taxes the little
man pays are often well disguised
Long ago. politicians discovered
that there might be unpleasant con-
sequences IL 1t were admitted that
taxes hit every man and woman IN
the eountry-that they lift the poor
as well as the rich. the wage Garner
as well as the big corporation So
instead OF putting q direct tax on
everybody. there has been developed
an indirect system-hidden taxes:
Axes that every man AID woman
pays without realizing thsS aFeLpay-
SIS
the House Of Representatives and
lifelong tax student. explained the
philosophy Of hidden taxes when he
quoted a philosopher who said that
the ideal way to raise taxes was TO
get the most feathers with the least
sqRawking OF the goose"
County. city and local government
costs the people OF Florida about
s75. 900 600 q year. and the cost OF
state government. not including the
moneys pro rated payment 20 cOzn-
.fes. costs the people s25. e0o .00s an
auaIly.
Statisicians are now announcing
hat tzxes In 1893 win amount 30
twenty per cent o. the Whole IA
.IOuzI income OF the Unitsd States
This means one dollar Ct every five
EIH Be taken ~ ths sovernnsnt IN
sas f0Tm Or snoGhar The Gesgn-
1ept- FEDERAL SAFE o. local. 8 aet
- ftzk9Sa d0IlzT from every fn@
zoi=r,htn earned 81 TIE peopis-for
Ehzt7-for being goFer1edI