Show A LICENSE OUTRAGE Merchants < and Shopkeepers Taxed Right and Left Gambling Is llm Only Business in the City lhlt Docs Not Pay a Special Tax The people of this city before they vote upon themselves anymore taxes should demand de-mand that th < > merchant tax be abolished The levy of 5 mills made by the city council ought to be sufficient to meet all the legitimate expenses of toe present administration ad-ministration At present nearly every kind of business a man may engage in is subject to a special tax About the only business exempt from a special tax is gambling the very business of all others that should pay the heaviest license Tho butcher who sells fresh meat pays a tax of 25 to 5125 per year Tho widow who takes lodgers to keep the wolr from tho door before she can earn a dollar for herself must go to the city clerk and pay a quarters license In advance The photographer after paying taxes on his stock in trade is raked up by the city collector to the tune of 25 a year The man who assays ore samples has to contribute 12 a year into the city treasury for the privilege of contributing his skill in the interest of the mining industry Outside capital ID encouraged to come in by the license collector pouncing on the investor for t50 the moment ho finds him loaning his capital ears the boat money market The smelting industry is encouraged by a special tax Contracting electricians in the name of science pay a special tax The policy of charging legitimate business busi-ness a special tax belongs to a past age and is obsolete in all tho eastern cities It is not only an unnecessary burden to business busi-ness but a potty tyranny that is obnoxious to all lovers of free trade At present some 25000 is extracted from the pockets of business mon who during these times find it burdensome to pay Make all legitimate business free as the airThe The high rents and the regular city county and territorial levy is all that business busi-ness can standBy stand-By an adjustment of the license ordinance ordi-nance the license revenue can be kept up The gambling houses should pay a license of not less than 2000 a year for the priv liege of doing business at all It is but fair that they should help pay for the public protection they receive The amusement license is sadly defective The museum which has been making from 525000 to 50000 a year profits han been getting off with 50 a year when it should have been paying at least 5 per cent on its gross receipts as nearly all the money is shipped out of town The license schedule should undergo a horizontal reduction on most of the items and tuere should be a vertical increase in others W W |