Show WHAT TT IT COSTS TO GOVERN US by PROP PROF M H HUNTER of at economics economic university of illinois IIII nol the expenditures of the states I 1 IN N the 48 american states spent tills this was about W 0 for every min man komao jomaa and child in the lie states tile the cost ot of carrying on tile the govern governments mente was SC of which went to tile the legislative branch to tile the executive branch arid to tile the work it if the judiciary the most important kenw teni of alie csech il live ve br ain ch coli ecton of 0 revenues aud assessment 0 t revenues tile pl protection 10 lo person and pro erty crair carried led by the states islade Is up of ninny many activities although the total expenditure waa hut 19 some tr r alic most important lj fenis nis ure are police and armories 10 OS fish und arid anine w n SI S 4 I regulation tit of bisti lut tut loiis ions regulation of in companies i art the regulation of public service corporations s 5 in and conserving natural resources lie states spent 02 nUO lU of this oils wella to projects tile lie most mosa lintio r inet of which were axtens extension wor work and development of live stock con ol of health nn d took tile must emst fi keins tellis lit in which were of crimmi nl cable diseases conservation of child life and food inspection for highways a total oi of i XU was expended going to su supervision pervist oil roads waterways bridges und and abolition of grade the lions share 14 6 r roads till tile item next in ili importance after highways was that for charities hospitals and corrections receiving rec elvIng a total ot 61 tile the important items under charities wit with li ures are outdoor relief care of children and care adire of the blind deaf and mute tile the general cost the lie suites states lf tho sefor tile the osone and those tor for tile feeble minded institutions for correct correction lori may be divided into antt those fo for r adults adulte and those for minors the former costing and alie hitter 1 the cost of education was by tar the most important in the states expenditures tures intili taking ing 41 4 abl lille re recreation was re relatively unimportant receiving but of the idu educational cat ional tonal costs 3 73 au elon OW for state institutions tut ions while was as in apro arf printed arla ted to minor civil divisions I 1 I 1 the sales tax 1113 enles kalegi tax was mis first seriously TsI THE dered after tile the world war many individuals thought it desirable to relieve incomes Income sand and profit from the high tax rates to alch which they were subject one Iossi possible fl e substitute which was widely advocated was a general stiles sales tax that Is a tax of 1 p pur r cent upon every sale to ile be I 1 11 id by alje one making the sole sale it was claimed that thal this would produce anel an adequate revenue was boshall BO small taint hat the burden upon no one would be grent great tin and consequently would orter offer but little incentive for evasion evus lon the proposal succeeded in evoking considerable discussion but was not adopted after la a lull of so some me scars the discussion Is being revived and so many are ngoan cigal n t the he adoption or of the general sales tax as t that flit its weaknesses deserve mention A tax upon every sale would tall with very different weight upon industries dus tries of dIf different Terent forms of organization in one industry all the proc esses of production from securing the raw material to selling the finished product may be under one ownership arid and management and with a sales tax would involve but one levy TO in OD an industry made up op ot various stages each under a different owner owne jr involving a sale fale brorn one to the next many taxes would be levied and tile the total burden would consequently consequent lj he be much greater this unjust discrimination might tend to on inefficient reorganization of many industries und to the lie abolishment 1 of economically desirable middlemen A get general jeral sales tax lax would on nn fall much more severely upon aprin some som 1 e types of business than upon ci others the tax Is upon turnover or gross sales rather than upon net inet receipts and in different businesses the relation between gross sales and net receipts is ver very different suppose one man to invest I 1 in n i a i retail jewelry business find and another 50 in a retail grocery in order to make ft a fair return on the investment the gro CPI cei will have to sell many times arnea the volume of goods that tl the ie jewe jeweler ler will have to sell since ills margin of profit Is much smaller the tax however would be upon volume of sales an unfair discrimination against the grocer it has been assumed that the tax tai will in tile lie end rest upon the final purchaser in which case it la Is a tax on expenditure A A man with a wife ife und and four children spends a year t in D rent food clothing and education alou necessities A bachelor spends S a year upon all cabarets abets theaters an and fancy clothes yet the tax ax upon each will tie be the same it Is dl 1 i to square such a coad lillon with ones 1 acne senke of justice ide adequacy of r revenue evenue i and administrative ease from re 1 in countries 6 such as franco france and the philippines where the sales tax to Is found 04 1921 1025 |