The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-11-10
tspeeIaI % INC cltIrenl

Take look at Mr.. Average
Motorist of 1871. one of the best
yet one of the most misunder-
stood and excessively taxed of
citizens. He's the backbone Of
the nation, yet some think of
him only as a person of means
who spends his time driving a
car Tor pleasure. Others say ne
IS the man who drives a car he
does not own on trips he cannot
afford.
Actually, Mr.. Average Motor
ist of IS4l is a good citizen. 40 to
40 years of age. living in the
country or in a community of
less than 5000 population. He
has a wife and two children. He
has a job which pays him $40 to
$50 a week. He also has a car
which is worth abort s225. He
uses the car more than one-half
the time for strictly necessary
business purposes related to his
family life or job.
Wheels OF Necessity
Chances are better than two
TO one that Mr.. Average Motor
list never has owned a brand
new car, and that neither he
nor his family has any other de-
pendable, economical means of
transportation. Chances are good
that he drives his car to work
each morning, and home again
AT night. Chances are also that
he lives where he does, not en-
tirely from choice, but because
rents OF taxes are low. And it
is probable that he couldn't live
there had he no car.
In the course Of a year, Mr.
Average Motorist spends the
equivalent of As eight-hour days
driving his car. More than 90
per cent Of his trips are within
a 30-mile radius Of his home.
Much of the time ne is driving
to and from work.
He is the customer of many
businesses dependent upon high
way traveElittle enterprises
built along the road. He spends
about $50 per year, or better
than 10 per cent of mis- income,
on his car. He consumes $50
gallons of motor fuel, and 40
quarts of lubFicating oil He
purchases about SIS worth of
tires, tubes, parts, and acces-
series. And he buys enough
other merchandise to make him
a welcome customer at many
shops.
Helpful Citizen
Mr.. Average M0torist, as
helpful citizen. earning his liv-
ing, supporting his family, pay
ne his way, is little business
functioning at ifs best. Multiply
him by 10000 Goethe American
automotive family-and ne is
big business at its best And ne
has to be multiplied by some
such fantastic figure as 10000
600, because that is just about
the outside number Of Mr.. Aver
age Motorists in the U.SA.
Certainly, taken by himself.
Mr. Average Motorist is neither
an economic rOyalist. nor even
affluent He IS just an Ameri-
can citizen trying to get along.
the way millions of other Ameri-
cans do. Yet how does the tax
collector regard him? Mr.. Aver
age Motorist pays all the ordin-
ary and regular taxes every
citizen psys-real estate. school,
water. poll. fire. sewer. and all
the rest. But being a motorist
he is taxed, extra and addition
ally, at the rate of more than Is
per cent of the value of his auto
motive property. Figure the
yearly depreciation of that prop
erty and the automotive tax
rate goes to astounding figures.
Punitive Taxation
Mr.. Average MotoriSt scarcely
could be taxed more excessively
if celebrate effort had been made
to punish him through taxation.
OF course. that was not the idea.
It simply happened that the gov
eminent needed money and folks
with cars appeared to be folks
with money. The legislators just
didn't have time to notice that
for most people the automobile
was changing from q luxury into
a necessity.
Mr.. Average Motorists special
additional automotive tax bill
exceeds $50 a year. His registra-
ton fee costs about SI2 His
gasoline taxes total $40 a year.
or the equivalent of 50 per
cent sales tax For every hour
he drives his car he pays about
IL cents an hour in taxes. All
in all. his autom0tive property is
taxed about fives times as much
as any other property he owns.
None truthfully can say that
Mr.. Average Motorists is blessed
by any special ability to assume
a share Of the cost of govern
ment greater than that of a