Gas, Incomes

The people of the U. S. contribute four billion dollars per year to operate their Federal Government. More than twice that sum is required annually to run their State and local governments. Total total: $13,000,000,000, to be raised by annual taxation.

While each and every tax affects each and every citizen, the most widely distributed tax is the gasoline tax, now levied by every State in the Union. Last week the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads revealed that the 48 States and the District of Columbia collected $494,683,410 (an increase of 14% over 1929) on 14,751,308,978 gal. used by motorists last year.

The gasoline tax rate ranged from 2-c- per gal. in Massachusetts,-- Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Missouri, Wisconsin up to 6^ in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida. Ohio with a 4^ rate made the largest collection ($37,081,451), Nevada the smallest ($675,012). New York motorists used the most gasoline (1,438,582,-716 gal.), California the next (1,162,337,-545 gal.). The average U. S. motorist burned up 556 gal. in the course of the year, on which his tax was $18.62. (Average automobile registration fee: $13.41.)

It costs the States about $1,000,000 to collect this tax. They used all but $15,-500,000 of it for roads.

Rapidly spreading of late as a form of State taxation is a levy on incomes. Political agitation for tapping this source of revenue comes chiefly from farmers who want to shift the emphasis of local taxation from the country to the city, from property (i. e. land) to salaries and profits. Until the 1930 Legislatures began to sit, 20 States had laws for taxing incomes. Since then three States--Idaho, Vermont and Utah--have joined the income taxing procession while the question has been present in a dozen others. Industrial Pennsylvania remains the largest State without a direct levy on incomes. All State income taxes are at a lower rate than Federal income taxes.

In Utah the new tax law works on a sliding scale up to 4% on net incomes over $9,000. The Idaho law scales up to 4% on incomes over $6,000. In Vermont earned incomes are taxed at the flat rate of 2%, unearned incomes at 4%. Exemptions range from $1,000 up. Revision of income tax law tending toward higher rates occurred in Oklahoma, Oregon, Missouri, Georgia. In Illinois the Senate sent an income tax bill to the House, despite the warning of constitutional experts that such a levy was unconstitutional in that State.

The unreliability of income taxation in hard times was last week demonstrated in New York (rate: i% to 3%). Last year the State collected $84,000,000 from this source. This year it expected to collect $66,000,000. Its actual receipts were under $38,000,000.

*Last week Massachusetts raised its rate to 3$ per gal.

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