Show henry gehrz on in direct taxation in henry george ceorge s protection or free trade trad th author thus clearly shows how op oppressively indirect taxes and especially espee espe cally ally tariff taxes bear upon the poor while the rich almost entirely escape A still mure important objection to indirect taxation is that when imposed on articles of general use and it is only from such enoh articles that large revenues re vennes can be had it bears with far greater weight on the poor than on tle the rich since such taxation falls on afi people not according to what they have but according to they consume it is is the heaviest on those whose consumption is is largest in proportion to their means As much sugar suar su ar is is needed to sweeten a cup of tea for a work working in girl as for the richest lady in the land but the proportion of their means which a tax on sugar compels c eboh to contribute to the government in in the case of the one 1 is much greater than inthe in the case ot of the other ot er so it is with all taxes that increase the cost of articles of general consumption to bear far more heavily on married men than on bachelors on those who have children than on those who have none on those barely able to support their families than ou on those whose enose incomes leave them a large surplus if the millionaire chooses to live closely he need pay no more of these indirect taxes than the mechanic I 1 have known at least two millionaires possessed not of one but of from six to ten millions each cash who paid little more of such taxes than ordinary day laborers |