THE By WILLIAM C. UTLEY O YOU make $150 a month? If you do, you'll be inter- ested—and perhaps a little sur- prised—to learn that the tax collector picks your pocket to the tune of one-eighth of your income. He sneaks enough from the family wallet in two years to buy a new car. Yes, he picks your pocket. For this ‘‘take'’—which amounts to 12.7 cents out of every dollar—repre- sents indirect, or “hidden,” taxes. They're not like your income tax or personal property tax or a state retail sales tax, for you rarely know when you have to ‘‘shell out’ for them. They're concealed in the price of the goods and services you buy, even the bare necessities of life such as bread and shoes. ‘Death and taxes are inevitable''—and all too often invisible. These are only a few of many il- luminating revelations to the Family the Northwestern National Life In- The study was started in Novem- ber, 1935. Records of 208 concerns —public utilities, insurance compa- nies, manufacturers, jobbers and retailers—were investigated “in an effort to measure as accurately as possible the proportion of prices paid by the consumer for which taxes—federal, state and local —are responsible.” All levies which would not mally be included in the cost of goods and services sold were omit- ted in the calculations which fol- lowed from the original producer to the retailer. The principal taxes entering into the picture then were: Farm and urban realty taxes, per- sonal property and general prop- erly taxes of business concerns, ex- chise taxes, licenses, fees and fran- chises, moneys and credits taxes, gasoline and oil taxes on motor truck deliveries, import duties and the tax element in freight costs in- volved in the various steps of dis- tribution. Taxes Are Passed On. To understand the figures it is necessary to understand how some of these indirect taxes work. “In the case of a retailer who owns the building which houses his store,” says the report, ‘‘real estate taxes are shown on his books as an item of overhead, and their participa- tion in the ‘makeup’ which he must add to his cost prices can be measured with considerable cer- tainty. + “However, { he rents his store building, the taxes on the building are necessarily contained in the rental paid, and are just as surely a portion of his overhead expense, even though concealed in the entry ‘rent.’ “In the wholesale price which the retailer pays for his merchandise is necessarily contained an overhead element consisting of the real estate taxes on the building occupied by the wholesaler, and just as neces- sarily, taxes on the factory which produced the goods contribute a por- tion of the price charged the jobber by the manufacturer. “This study,” the report contin- ued, ‘has undertaken to include in the figures finally attained the prin- cipal elements affecting ultimate prices charged, whether actually listed as ‘taxes’ on the books of the business, or contained as a por- tion of some other entry.” Social security taxes were not con- sidered, ‘‘because they are in a sense deposits for future withdraw- al.”' Gasoline taxes were computed, because gasoline and oil are sub- ject te local taxes in all 48 states and the District of Columbia, in addition to the federal levy. Tax-Grabber Is Killjoy. The researchers estimated that the average worker's family with an income of $150 a month spends $43.50 for food; of this 7.1 per cent, or $3.09, goes to the hidden tax col- lector. Of the $30 spent for shelter, hidden taxes take more than a quarter, $7.59. They account for 8 per cent of the $18 clothing bill, or $1.28. Fuel and light cost $11, but 9.5 per cent of this, or $1.05, rep- resents indirect taxes. The tax-grabber really cuts into the family’s enjoyment of life. The cost of an average used car, includ- ing license, and gas and oil sales tax, is $14.50 a month; hidden taxes get 20.1 per cent—$291. And the $3.00 the $150-a-month family can set aside for recreation .includes 30 cents for the tax-grabber, who seldom shows his face. Insurance bears a lighter tax load. Of the $5.00 spent monthly for that protection, only 2.6 per cent, or 13 cents, falls into the hid- den tax barrel. Sundries and mis- cellaneous items—toothpaste, jewel ry, tobacco, etc.—which cost $27 a month are burdened with taxes amounting to 10.2 per cent, or $2.75, The hidden taxes which eat away at an $80 monthly income are slight- ly less in proportion, since it is nor- not odinarily permit the owner. ship or operation of an automobile. Here's the way the fares with that one: ! %of Taxes Amount Cost Found eof Tax in Per Month in Cost Dollars $27.00 7 $1.92 25.3 455 ng . . 7 Fuel and Light Transportation (Streetcar) Recreation Insurance ‘ Sundries & Mis- cellaneous . 12.00 $67 ... 596000 120 $116.04 Taxes on $200 Income. There is a slight difference in the proportion of hidden taxes to the spending of a family with an in- come of $200 a month. This is again accounted for by the automobile, as shown: Annually % of Taxes Found Tax in in Cost Dollars Cont Per Month $48.00 Shelter . 38.00 Clothing “ns 22.00 Fuel and Light . 14.00 Transportation (Auto bought new) . 20.00 Recreation 6.00 Savings Insurance Sundries & Mis- cellaneous 10.2 Total $200.00 Av.12 4 Annually .. 5240000 124 *Alsc includes license, and gas and oll sales taxes **Tax ratio to total time and demand deposits In banks studied was 2 per cent. However, the effect of this tax would obviously not be to increase the savings depositor's outlay, but could only affect him by reducing the interest yield on his savings. The moneys and credits taxes levied by many states are paid directly by depositors, with wide variation in rates and in minimum exemptions, “After arriving at general tax ratios for the various lines of goods and products represented by the concerns studied,” says the report, “further studies were made of in- You'll never recognize ‘em, ma- dame, but hidden taxes will account for 8 per cent of what you pay for that dress! dividual products in certain lines— in the case of food products, bread, pork, beef, sugar etc. The results of these studies gave an additional series of checks though, necessarily, individual items varied rather wide- ly in some cases from the tax pro- portions arrived at for the general group of goods.” The loaf of bread for which you pay a dime bears in its cost .64 of a cent in hidden taxes, the study disclosed. Beef prices contain in- direct taxes amounting to 8.14 per cent; pork prices, 8.04 per cent. A five-pound bag of sugar costs a nickel more than it would if there were no indirect taxes concealed in it. Rent Boosted by Taxes. If the man of the house buys suit of clothes for $25, a The great proportion of indirect taxes to residential rental costs was with the aid of real estate companies in 48 cities; rec- ords on representative local prop- erties were taken at random from their files. A total of 7,964 single and multiple family dwelling units were covered by the final averages. These re- vealed that taxes represented 28 per cent of the current rental rate of the one-family dwellings studied: 19.2 per cent of the rental rates of the duplexes and 13.6 per cent of the rental rates of the apartments. “The notably lower ratio of taxes to apartment dwellings is due,” savs the report, ‘‘first to the fact that a portion of the apartment rental dol- lar represents fuel, water, rent, jan- itor service, etc.: second floor space is more intensively occupied in apartment buildings, and third, apartment rental rates have in gen- eral recovered somewhat f house rental rates. In many munities, however, tax rates mounting approximately as fast as rental rates are recovering.” Average Motorist Taxed $48, The automobile today has passed the stage where it may be classified as altogether a luxury. But it's a free luxury for the tax-grabber: in fact it's soft picking for him. Mo- torists paid an average of $48 apiece in taxes, direct and indirect, con- tributing a total of $1,340,000,000 or 10% per cent of the nation's entire tax revenues during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1837, according to the study. In a detailed advance estimate, the report sets total federal, state are 000,000 for the fiscal year just ended. General property taxes contribute $4,718,000,000, and income taxes federal, state, and 000,000 according to the study, with motor vehicles ranking a strong third as a source of revenue. Gasoline and oil taxes, totaling $884,000,000, make up the bulk of motorists’ current tax contribution. Combined federal and state taxes on, gasoline average slightly over five cents per gallon, for the coun- try as a whole. The purchaser of a new low-priced car pays $101 in taxes, direct and indirect, during his first year of ownership, according to the study. He pays approximately $64 in taxes as a part of the original pur- chase price, the study shows. This figure includes $3.30 estimated tax content in the freight costs, $14.41 in excise taxes, and numerous di- rect and indirect taxes which ac- cumulate in material and produc- tion costs to an estimated amount of $46.10. Computations Conservative. If the motorist operates his car 7,200 miles a season, his gasoline and oil sales taxes will total ap- proximately $23; with an average cost for his new car license of $14.50, a motorist thus contributes some $101.50 in taxes during his first year of ownership. If, however, the $64 of taxes con- tained in the original purchase price is averaged down to an annual de- preciation basis of $10.42, assum- ing resale or trade-in at the end of the third year for $350, the motor- ist’s average tax cost becomes $48.14 annually for the three years, the study shows. This figure is com- puted on the very conservative op- erating basis of 7,200 miles per sea- son, the repart points out. " The owner of a used car in its ADVENTURERS’ CLUB HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF! “Assassins of the Nile” By FLOYD GIBBONS Famous Headline Hunter YS" know, boys and girls, I have often said that you'll find adventure close to home a darned sight easier than you will roaming the world. One who goes traveling in search of thrills usually doesn’t find any until he gets back into his own bailiwick again. But there are exceptions to every rule—and here's one of them. George C. Dorste of Bardonia, Rockland county, N. Y., met his biggest thrill when he was thousands of miles away from home and in a strange exotic country, The country was Egypt, and George landed there in the course of his travels as a fireman on a tramp steamer. The steamer was carry- ing scrap iron, unloading it in consignments of various sizes at ports along the Nile river and its many branches. The year was 1912, and the just south of the town of Medinet El Faiyum. The ship was anchored not far from a pier. The weather is pretty hot in Egypt. In the afternoon, particularly, the sun beats down with such intensity that it is next to impossible for anybody but a native to do any work. It was at the height of the hot season, and the crew of the steamer, dripping sweat from every pore of their bodies, were just about all in. Along in the afternoon the skipper gave orders for all hands to knock off work for the rest of the day. The men didn’t argue about that. Most of them just walked to the rested. But there were a half dozen young fellows—George among them— who had a better idea. They stripped off their clothes and dived over the side into the water. A Dandy Day for Lazy Sport. Those lads were in it, They came out, The water was cool and refreshing. off and on, for the better part of the afternoon. a breathing spell on the ship's deck, iron hull of the vessel made it so hot that they were glad to the water again. The afternoon wore on and the sun began sinking toward the horizon. As its scorching rays withdrew little by little, the day became cooler. One by one the swimmers climbed back aboard the steamer and stayed there. Finally all of them were out of the water except one. And that one man was George Dorste, George loved the water and he hated to leave it get back in Reflects Good Taste GST Tn Tosa » (r ¢ id oa Jz w * bed for company, you seek distinction the purpose of this lacy spread. A true reflection of your own good taste is this stunning open- work design, one easily achieved by crocheting simple, single me- dallions of string. A stunning dresser or table scarf, or per- chance a cloth could also be your choice. It may be done in one or a combination of colors. Pattern 1443 contains detailed directions for making the 8% inch medal- lion shown and joining it for a | variety of articles: illustration of it and of all stitches used: | material requirements; color sug- gestions. Send 15 cents in | coins (coins stamps or preferred) for this | pattern to The Sewing Circle {| Needlecraft Dept, 82 Eighth {| Ave., New York, N. Y. 33d] Rl and the pier. As he splashed about in the river he heard a voice calling on shore and, looking up, saw a native standing on the pier. If George Had Only Been a Linguist! The native was shouting to George, but in a language he didn“ understand. Then suddenly, he began to point toward the ship. George The great reptile was between him and the ship. could figure out only one reason for that pointing. He immediate) over the side and wanted him to retrieve it. He turned and swam slowly toward the ship. The native on the pier kept right on yelling, but George paid no attention. And then, suddealy, he saw it—a thing that looked like a log floating in the water, but a log that had a rough wrinkled snout and a pair of glassy eyes just showing above the surface! A crocodile! The great reptile was between him and the ship—and not more than twenty feet away from him. A shudder went through George's body when he saw it. He turned and began swimming toward the pier. But the pier was a great distance away—or at least, so it seemed to George. He knew that beast could catch up to him in less time than it takes to tell the story. He Looked Like Good Meal to Crocodile. He was swimming as fast as he could—exhausting himself in a spurt for the pier. And the crocodile was following along behind. It seemed to George that the great reptile never approached any closer than that original twenty feet—the distance that had separated them when he turned toward the pier. Was the beast playing with him, as a cat would with a mouse? Or was it waiting until George had exhausted him- self in the swim toward shore before those cruel jaws opened and closed over him? Still swimming frantically, he reached the pier. And then an- other terrifying discovery greeted him. As he made frenzied ef- forts to climb up the piles that supported the pier, he found that he couldn't. Those piles were covered with a slippery moss. He could make no headway up them. And all the time, now, the crocodile was coming closer, swimming slowly toward what it knew must inevitably furnish it its evening meal. By now, George was mad with terror. He was still clawing ana scraping frantically at those smooth, moss-covered piles, when the na- tive on the dock came to his rescue. Suddenly, the native picked up a huge piece of scrap iron from a pile on the dock, and hurled it at the swimming crocodile. The piece missed. The native threw another— and that one found its mark. It hit the beast on the snout, and it dived beneath the surface. Native’s Accurate Peg Saves George's Life. By that time a boat had been launched from the ship. It came tear- ing across the water as George's shipmates pulled hard on the oars. It reached George a few seconds after the crocodile had gone down. “As they pulled me out of the water,” George says, “I lost consciousness for a minute or two. But I came back to life be- fore the boat had reached the ship—in time to see the steely eyes of the crocodile which had reappeared once more. It was fol- lowing along, not more than ten feet behind the boat.” And George says that if he'd had a gun then, it would have given him the greatest pleasure to aim it right between those two glassy eyes and pull the trigger. ©--WNU Service. kl Elements Needed for Plant Growth The elements essential for plant growth are hydrogen, oxygen, car- bon, nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, chlorine and sulphur. Certain plants make use of other elements, but they are not considered essential A French Commune The entire territory of France is comprised in municipal organiza- tions called communes, the num- ber exceeding 36,000. They vary greatly in size and population. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers