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sumption , " to denote that which is enjoyed within the year , and which is , in most cases , hut not necessarily , destroyed ia the enjoyment of it . . l"he new taxes , taken at the amount they are expected to reach after the present year , are as follows : — Kett increase of the spirit duties , £ 436 , 000 „ „ license „ 113 , 000 Total nett increase of the taxes on consumption . £ 549 , 000 Total nett ( temporary ) increase of the tax on income 690 , 000 Total nett increase of the taxes on property , consisting of the extension of the legacy duty 2 , 000 , 000 Total new taxes on the three great divisions of consumption , income , and property ' ..... 3 , 139 , 000 The reductions and abolitions , as they will eventually appear , are as follows : — Soap . 1 , 126 , 000 Stamps , advertisements , and hackney carriages 420 , 000 Assessed taxes 290 , 000 Post-horse duty 54 , 000 Colonial postage 40 , 000 Customs 3 , 385 , 000 6 , 316 , 000 All these reductions and abolitions are of taxes on consumption , except the following : —• Indentures and attorney's certificates £ 50 , 000 Carriages , torses , and dogs . . 203 , 000 Deduct therefore 253 , 000 There remains the total of the reductions and abolitions of the taxes on consumption 5 , 062 , 000 Subtract the new taxes on consumption , given above 649 , 000 and the nett reduction of taxes on consumptionis . . . . . . . .. . . 4 , 513 , 000 This is partly to be met by reductions of charge on the debt , amounting to . . 3 , 410 , 000 Leaving to be provided for by other taxes instead of those on consumption , which have been repealed 1 , 103 , 000 Which is proposed to be done by a legacy duty , i . e ., a tax on property , to the amount of . . . . . 2 , 000 , 000 Here , then , we have taxes on consumption and income repealed , and their place taken , as far as their amount is required , entirely by a tax on property . Our nhinef ; will h « fn show that , this chancre is a necossarv kfc ~ W- * _~ vwi - » wh
, " ^^ H ^ ¦ ^^ ^ J ^^ W ¦ A ^^ f * . F ^ L / V ^ - ^ *¦ * ¦""" ^^ " ¦ ¦* »^»» »* V »¦» »¦ — — «~^^ i — « K —^ ™ .-w ww __ - - »^ w — consequenco of principles which cannot be evaded , not a mere device of financial discretion and ingenuity ; and we purpose to show this from Mr . Gladstone ' s own speech , although the right honourable gentleman might be unconscious of theprincipleswhich controlled him , and would , most probably , strenuously resist our conclusion . First-, then ; the legacy duty is strictly a tax on property , levied onco in a man ' s life instead of every year . In its old form it did not hold so exact a parallel to a true annual tax on property as in its new one ; for then it was a reversed life assurance , falling heavily on short lives and frequent successions to the siune property , and lightly on long lives ; but now the duty is to be taken only on the life interest , not on the entire capital value ; so that it amounts only to a tax on property , paid for lifo on entering into possession of it , subject to a compulsory commutation with the effect of the purchases of an annuity . All the difficulties of valuation , so strenuously alleged when property is proposed as tlio sole basis of taxation , are here taken for nothing ; und all tho property in the kingdom is to bo valued for legacy duty , although it is said it could not ho valued for direct taxation . It would not be difficult to showtlnit mi annual valuation , when onco established as the basis of u system , would be tho easier and truer operation , Tho principle and the practicabilit y of a direct tux on property arc , however , dourly admitted in fact l > y tho proposal of tho Chancellor of tho ^ Exchequer , whatever tho expression of his theoretical opinions . To what is it that Mr . Gladstone prefers thin tax on proporty ? Fitvst , he prefers it to u tax on income . Jlis arguments against tho latter aro such na these : —¦ While it in too unjust in its prosont form to bo continued , it i * <> f Much a nature that it cannot be amended . Income often runn into property , and property into income , ho that no just tent can be laid down which will in nil enHOH distinguish tho income to be nsHossed . Some incoinof ) nro inuiiifeHtly worth Iohh than others of equal amount ; mid yet you run dovise no rulo which will ilceurutoly and fairly divide incomes into classes for purposes of taxation , since any rule which hcouim to suit on « Hot of << usos either unfairly taxon , or m unfairly exempts another ; ho inter woven and so infinitoly varied rit-0 tho oiiaugoinonta uud contrivances of pur uooittl lifo . Itoii biihiiofc ati'iko nyonuron . tor tho iustiuww tiro eo
extreme that you cannot avoid cruelly crushing one , or ludicrously failing to touch the other . You have not even the means of knowing with certainty what any single income is which you propose to tax ; for , if you insist on ascertaining for yourself , you . will violate privacies which every man feels he has a right to have respected , and the general discontent will generate eventual resistance ; while if you leave every man to state his income for himself , you find yourself miserably cheated , and you put every man under a temptation to cheat you . These , stated in our own words , are M-T . Gladstone ' s reasons for rejecting the
income-tax , reasons which condemn it specifically as A tax on income , and not merely as our particular income-tax . All the other taxes repealed or reduced are taxes on consumption . We take one as a specimen—the tax on soap . This tax deteriorates and renders costly the manufacture , it diminishes exportation , it prevents improvement , it discourages cleanliness . For every penny the Government receives from it the people lose twopence—that is , taking the tax and its consequences together . To show how far the ill effects of this tax extend , Mr . Gladstone referred to the large consumption of palm-oil , and the consequent increase of legitimate commerce in Africa , which it prevents .
There is , however , in fact , little more to be said against this than against most other taxes on consumable commodities . They all debase manufacture , limit commerce , and stint enjoyment . The tax on tea acts on our intercourse with China , that on silk on our trade with Italy , the Levant , and India , and so on . The corn-laws were only a gross case of the same class . Trace each tax as Mr . Gladstone traced that on soap , and effects may be everywhere detected , equal either to the additional filth of a metropolitan alley , or to the stunted and debased commerce of an African river .
Mr . Gladstone can hardly suppose that his present recension of the taxes on consumption will be the last . Just the same things have been said before of taxes then to be abolished , and the soap-tax , now deemed the worst , was then retained as not so bad as some others . The repeal of those taxes has given room for the display of the faults of this ; and the effects of the repeal of the soap-tax will add new instances to the old
arguments for the repeal of the remainder , one by one . The unsoundness is in the whole class as taxes on consumption , and not singly and particularly in the demerits of each several tax ; an unsoundness which , indeed is plainly shown i n every successive case as it is brought up for examination , but which belongs to the nature of every one of them . The Chancellor of . the Exchequer may * himself have to show the same chief faults in other taxes , as he now exhibits in that on soap .
Before we quit this class of taxes , it is necessary to notjee Mr . Gladstone ' s expectation that in eight or nine years they will recover , through increased consumption , the amounts by which they are now reduced . Of all formula ) those derived from experience need perhaps the greatest care in their application ; and before the Chancellor of the Exchequer trusts to former example to justify his expectation , lie may well inquire whether
he has not passed the point which , in going downwards , gives the . maximum revenue , and is not approaching tho lower limit , where of course no tax would give no revenue , whatever tho amount of consumption . Jf so ho is only laying up another argument for tho future repeal of the remaining taxes on consumption , for they will bo found to produce nothing worth the evils which attach to every tax of that kind by the very terms of its existence , however small the sum it yields .
Collecting thoso results , it appears beyond question that Mr . Gladstone ' s substitution of ft . tax on property , for taxes on income and consumption , is a result of principles which , whether he recognised them or not , really determined his course . Probably bo scea them yet but imperfectly , for ho says , " I think income is the proper basis of taxation . " But it ia no trifling practical attestation of tho truth of the views wo have advanced , that of two successive Chancellors of the Exchequer
struggling to eil ' ect Hiich fiscal reforms n « the situation of the country and their own reputation required , Mr . Disraeli last year , in express words , avowed his conviction of the future prevalence of direct taxation , and now Mr . Gladstone admits the name doctrine , by the stronger v <; ico of measures for carrying It into ettect . For ourselves wo drnw from tho present budget the strongest continuations of our principle , that nearly all tho errors of taxation arise from the Hubstitution of income for its basin instead of property .
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I . » 11 ft I A I 1 ) T A X A T I O N . To tho ISditor of tho Loader . Hilt , —On tho . 'Ustof December IiihI ; , Iliad tho honour of milmiitlinir » , <> Ilio Government a proposition Cor a Government Tax upon ItailwuytickotH , either ad valorem or flxod ¦ and at tlio sumo lime i culled its attention to nnnnoinir « unUar < lu ( i « s on oMuv tli 1 « ff » < tf Uw like nature Since thou t hivvo addjWBcd tlio CUwucollor ot tl » o
JucUoquer , the Right Honourable" B . Disraeli , Lord W . P . lennox , arid Mr . Hume , M . P ., and various other eminent persons on the same subject . It was somewhat singular that in the Times , of the 16 th instant , there appeared a letter from Lord W . P . Lennox advocating tho same principle ; confining it however to Kail way-tickets . May I beg the favour through your columns of la ying my proposition to the Parliament and the public in a more detailed form ? , . My proposition is ( inter alia ) as follows , namely , that
there should be d prepaid tax ( amongst others ) under the following Schedules , namely : — Schedule 1 . —On railway-tickets , 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd class ( not Parliamentary ) , and not to extend to stations or distances of ( say ) ten miles—1 st class , 3 d . ; . 2 nd class , 2 d . ; and 3 rd class , Id . Also , ( say ) Id . on every , offi c ial letter , proxy-papers for voting , &c . It has been computed with exactness that this would yield the Government a revenue of 400 , 000 Z . per annum . " Some modifications might be made as to season-tickets , return-tickets , &c . Steamboat-tickets belong to tho same class .
Schedule 2 . —Professional and trade-bills for work done and goods soiQ ., tavern-bills , &c , to be delivered with a jenny stamp . This would prevent evasion . I would embrace all such bills exceeding the amount probably of 11 There can be no exact computation as to what this may yield , but say 150 , 000 Z . per annum . Schedule 3 . —Magisterial , county-court , and all inferior tribunal forms , writs of summons in superior courts , judges' summons , notices to quit , not to trespass , &C ., &c . ; leaving for consideration in detail the amplification or contraction of the principle , including all judicial and extrajudicial forms . What this may produce it is not in my power to state with exactness—say 200 , 000 Z . per annum . Schedule 4 . —Amusement-tickets , including box and other tickets when issued for theatres , zoological , botanical and horticultural gardens , concerts , exhibitions of paintings , &c < But not to extend to natural exhibitions , &c .
Schedule 5 . —Bankers' checks , transfer of stock , railway shares , &c . ... Miscellaneous Schedule . — Electric-telegrflph-messagetickets , or any other document which might be likely to come before a court of justice for evidence , registry of deeds , &c . The police-watermen , such as Mr . Fitzroy proposes might be appointed at cabstands , instead of the present watermen , to take the prepaid Id . of the driver of every hackney-carriage arriving on the stand ; and then ( ho passenger would not be hindered and annoyed as he is at present . This especially applies to the case of ladies , and it undoubtedly contributes to serious inconveniences , such as the loss of tho railway trains . , ,
All the business of issuing tickets can be done at Somerset-house , without the creation of new machinery . Tho stamps on tradesmen ' s bills would prevent those mistakes which , often arise from carelessness , of a bill being delivered several times after payment . Advertising bills , circulars , and the like , would 1 ) 6 charged with a duty of SO much per thousand , and bo impressed with a distinguishing stamp ; or they could go free per post if stamped with a penny each . Tho extension of taxing to advertisements of all kinds would only be fair to newspapers ; and it would probabl y put a stop to the disgusting bills which are thrust at you in tho streets—a nuisance especially disgusting when ladies aro of the party .
There is no reason why attested copies of deeds should bo stamped any more than abstracts of title , conditions and particulars of sale , catalogues , &c , Sec . Every proxvpnper relating to real and personalty transactions , should bo taxed with Id . Parties registering estates would readily pay tho penny tax on tho receipt given ; indeed Mr . Gladstone ) hns rooognised tlio principle . Servants at tlio various regisfcry-oflices would do tho like , and it would bo it great protection to them . This loiter itf merely introductory , and if you think woll of tho principlo I shall trouble you again . I am perfectly convinced that theso taxes , with ot liars of a like principlo
which I have , to submit , will bo cheerfully paid by overy one . It would scarcely bo necessary to onforco so light a tax by heavy penalties '; but tho rofusol of validity to any document named iu the schedules ) without tho appointed stamp , would in most ; cases bo suflicient . I enter on this subject , Sir , without any reforenco to politics , offering tho HURgostionfortho adoption of "ThoGovernment of tho day . " This mode of taxation would furnish the means for still further relieving tho springs of industry , and would , I believe , ultimately prove for tho advancement and glory of tho country . I am , Sir , your obndicnt servant , KiCHAHi ) John Coin . 12 . Furnival ' H Tim . 20 th April , 1 R 5 U .
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[ Tho TludgotBoafion has set ; people at tho work of invontioii , and a really valuable suggestion is hero thrown out by Mr . J . It . Colo in anLii-ipatioii—that of extending the principle of pro-puid taxation . M r . Colo suggests tho oxtorimvo use ? of a penny-tux in tho form of a htamp for all such documents as aro current for tho purpose of evidence or of securing righlH ; such as railwny-tioketri , admimontlcknts , receipts of registration , bills of charges , &o . Tho idea seems to have roeoivcxl considerable public favour , almost an hooii as the whinpor of it gets abroud . Two separate l « lioiv » appeared iu tlio Times ycHtvrduy , pointing to applications of il >; Lord William Lennox « Dgtaxwhich Beoins to havo
tfentii tho railway penny-, occurred to his own mind ; and indeed Mr . Gladstone ' s penny receipt stamp virtually sanctions tho BUflgofltion which our own correspondent , Mr . Colo , suggested to Lord Aberdeen in im introductory letter in December lost . . Divines are wont to urge their congregations to penny HubHoriptioiiH , as easy and productive ; th « uho of tho postnge-stain 1 ) 9 nhows what ; immense- Bums can easily bo collected in the samo way ; and Mr . Cole ' n suggestion is n HiWIii'ienf ; proof how readily actlvo minds nuifcod to tho buHimwH can ontond the principlo of .. prepaid taxation on expenditure , in tho form of Bttunpn ut a low money denomination . I
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Leader (1850-1860), April 23, 1853, page 401, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1983/page/17/
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