Daily evening bulletin. (Philadelphia, Pa.) 1856-1870, January 30, 1866, Image 2
THE NATIONAL REVENUE, Interestine and Important Report, of the Bevenne Com- MISBIOI3 erSi Results of DirectTaxation—Frauds-- - How to Prevent Them; &c. A preliminar3r report of the United States Revenue Commission has been printed, and makes a pamphlet of seventy-six pages. The Commission say: It became apparent to the Commission, at the outset, that any attempt to embrace in their investigations, prior to ,the time of the presentation of a first report, the whole field of inquiry assigned to them, would not only be impracticable, but also, that any effort with this object in view would, from its ne cessary diffuseness, lead to no practical or satisfactory results. They therefore, in de fault of any specific instructions,either from Congress or the Secretary of the Treasury, other than were contained in the act autho rizing the commission, adopted the plan of taking up specifically for investigation those sources of revenue which our own experi ence and the experience of other countries have indicated as likely to be most produc tive under taxation, and most capable of sustaining its burdens. The result of these investigations the commission propose to submit in the form of independent and spe cial reports. , In carrying out this plan they have sought to make• themselves practically acquainted with each subject of inquiry by personal inspection (when the investigation related to a specific branch of industry) and by putting themselves in all cases into direct and frequent communication with ,revenue officials, and with representative business men from every section of the country. The Commission have also, in most cases;caused the information communicated to them to be received in the form of testimony, under oath, and to be faithfully reported; and they express the hope that Congress will consider it expedient to order this record to be pre served in printed form. They complain of the imperfect and in correct statistic furnished them by govern ment Bureaus. Another great source of difficulty experienced by the Commission in conducting their investigations, with a view of arriving at any correct estimates of the future revenue of the country, has been the abnormal and disturbed condition of every branch of trade and industry since 1861, owing to the effects of the war, the frequent alterations of the tariff, and the inauguration of the Internal Revenue system. Many branches of trade and in dustry have been curtailed during this period from thirty to seventy-five per cen tum, and some few have been entirely de stroyed. Every advance made in the tariff and in the excise has, moreover, been an ticipated to such an extent by every class of importers ' dealers, manufacturers and speculators, that it cannot be said as yet that the government has fully tested the capacity of any one of what may be con sidered as its great and legitimate sources of revenue. Thus, for example, the commission esti mate that on the Ist of July, 1864, the date - when the advance in the tax on distilled spirits, of from sixty cents to one dollar and fifty cents per gallon, took effect, there were made and stored in anticipation of this ad vance at forty millions of gallons, or a quantity sufficient to supply the wants of the country for at least a year in advance. Since July 1, 1864, therefore, the receipts of the government from distilled spirits have from this-cause necessarily been inconsider able. Of cigars, in like manner, it is esti mated that from seventy to eighty millions were manufactured and stored in the city of New York atone, in anticipation of the tax. The stock of spices imported into the coun try previous to the advance of the tariff were also probably equal to nearly two years' supply, while in the case of the insignificant article of matches, on which the tax is only one cent per bunch, the stock accumu lated in anticipation of the tax was so large that it has not, even at the present date, January, 1866, been entirely exhausted. This abnormal condition of things, con pled with the fact that the.excise has been levied, to a great extent, on a basis of greatly inflated values, renders it extremely ditli cult to predicate anything with certainty concerning the future l from the immediate past. They next give some account of the reve nue system of Great Britain and that of France. In the former country the follow ing are about the percentages yielded by each item to the revenue: customs, 32; excise, 28; stamps, 131; land and assessed taxes, 5; income and property taxes, 12; post office 51; miscellaneous. 5. Of•the customs revenue 91 per cent. was derived from five articles : spirits, sugar, tea, tobacco and wine. Of the excise, 97 per cent, was derived from licenses, malt and domestic spirits. Intoxicating beverages and tobacco yielded nearly 40 per cent. of the total rev . enue. The most productive stamp duties were those on the conveyance and transmission of property; deeds, probate ofSwills and leg acies and successions. Next to these stood stamps on policies of insurances. The direct tax on land seems very small, being only about one and a half per cent. of the total revenue, but estates and interest in land are reached through the income tax, of which nearly sixty per cent: (under schedules A. and. B.) is assessed on real property and the profits of occupying it. The income tax is at present six pence in the pound, or more than four per cent, on the assessed valuation. Such are the leadingfeatures of the British revenue system. Having always a regard to the exemption of home industry from burdens, Great Britain thus raises hertaxes: 1. From articles of necessary and large con sumption, as tea, sugar and coffee. 2. From articles of indulgence, as spirits, beer, (malt) tobacco and wine. 3, From licenses and other taxes on occupations. 4. From stamps on legal doeuments, the conveyance and descent of property, andi instruments of business. 5. From occupied :houses, and the luxuries of living, servants, horses, dogs and carriages. 6. From incomes derived from realized property and professional and other earnings. 7. From the post office. In France, direct taxes, registration, stamps, customs duties, sugar, beverages and tobacco yielded more than seventy-six per cent. of the whole revenue, in the fol lowing proportions: Direct taxes, eighteen per cent.; registration and stamps tweniy three per cent.; customs duties (excluding sugar), four and a half per cent.; sugar, six per cent.; beverages, twelve per cent., and tobacco thirteen per cent. The deficit in the French budget for 1864 is reported at about 50,000,000 f. Comparing ;the French with the English revenue system, we observe the same ex emption from' taxation of hbme industry, especially of those manufactures which find a market in foreign countries. L an d i s subjected to heavier burdens in France than in England, and the freedom of occupation and action is restrained by heavier exactions in the way of licenses, stamps and registra tions. The revenue' derived from foreign imports is trifling in comparison with toe evstoms revenue of. Great Britain. Ticea p. petites and indulgences of the peaple are reached alike in both countries by heavy taxes on sugar, beverages and tobacco. and in both the post-Office is made to contribute a large revenue. - The Commission do not wish to :be understood as recommending any servile imitation of details; for nothing seenus more ;evident than that a revenue system for a particular ctluntry . cannot be framed thOo retically or, copied from any_ other, but must in every case. be adapted to the re source's of the' country for which it is de signed; and the fiscaLaptitudes and capacity of its people. Thus, upon no one point are writers on the theory of taxation better agreed than that taxation of raw materials is to ;be avoided as far as possible; but yet with the experience and practice of the government of British India in respect to opium, salt petre and shellac; of Holland in respect to the coffee, : sugar .and spices of Java and Sumatra; of China with her tea; Portugal with her wines, and Peru with her guand, it would'be hardly the part of-wisdom and sound policy for the United States to legis late on general principles only, in respect to articles of which they, like the nations re ferred to, have also a virtual monopoly, and for the supply of which other territories than their own are dependent. The Commission strongly condemn our present revenue system: The diffuseness of the present revenue system of the United States is doubtless one of its greatest imperfections, and under it the exemption of any article from taxation is the exception rather than the rule. A system of taxation so diffuse as the present one necessarily entails a system of duplication of taxes, which in turn leads to an undue enhancement of prices; a decrease both of production and consumption, and consequently of wealth; a restriction of ex portations and of foreign commerce, and a large increase in the machinery and expense of the revenue collection. In respect to the injurious influence of this duplication of taxes upon . the industry of the country, the commission cannot speak too strongly. Its effects have been already most injurious. It threatens the very ex istence—even with the protection of inflated prices and a high' tariff—of many branches of industry; and with a return of the trade and currency of the country to anything approximating its normal condition, it must, by checking development s prove highly disastrous. The influence of the duplication of taxes in sustaining prices is also, do the opinion of the Commission, far greater than those not conversant with the subject generally estimate; and were the price of gold and of the national currency made at once to ap proximate, and the present revenue system to continue unchanged, it would be impos sible for the prices of most products of manufacturing industry to return to any thing like their former level. In proof of this the Commission ask attention to the following illustrations : By section ninety-four of the act of June 30, 1864,a tax of five per cent. (or its equiva lent of specific duties) was imposed upon the sale of most of the industrial products of the country—lumber, breadstuffs, maple and sorghum syrups and sugar, whale and fish oils, and a few other articles ex- cepted. By the amended act of March, 3, 1865, an increase of twenty per cent. was made to the above rates, making the present general manufacturing excise tax six per cent. ad valorem on the sale prices of the product. Under the operation of this law the government now levies and collects from eight to fifteen per cent. (and even in some instances twenty per centum) on almost every finished industrial product. In order to fully understand the reason of such con clusions, it must be borne in mind that,but comparatively few products of manufactur ing industry come to the consumer as the result of one process, but that the finished product is almost always au aggregate of several distinct and separate manufactur- in g processes. A good illustration of this principle, and of the working of the revenue laws in re spect to the same, drawn from one of the many statements of experience submitted to the Commission,. is presented in the manufacture of umbrellas and parasols, as carried on in the cities of New York and Philadelphia. It was formerly the prac tice of umbrella makers to manufacture the main constituents of their product as one business; but now the business of an um brella manufacturer is rather to assemble the various constituents of an umbrella or parasol; which are made separately and in different parts of the country. Thus, for example, the sticks, when of wood, are made in Philadelphia and in Connecticut. part of native and part of foreign wood, on which last a duty may have been paid. It the supporting rod is of iron or steel, it is the product of Still another establishment, In like manner, thehandles of carved wood; bone, or ivory, the brass runners, the ties, the elastic band, the rubber of which the band is composed, the silk tassels, the but tons, the cover of silk, gingham, or alpaca, are all distinct products of manufacture; and each of these constituents; if of domes tic production, pays a tax when sold of six per cent. ad valorem, or its equivalent. The umbrella manufacturer now aggre gates all these constituent parts previously taxed into a finished product, and then pays six per centum on the whole. It is, there fore, evident that uncier the present excise system all the parts of the umbrella are taxed at least twice, and in some instances three times, thus adding from twelve to fifteen per cent. to the cost of the umbrella direct; while we may feel certain,moreover, that each separate manufacturer makes the payment of the sti- per cent. tax on his special production occasion for adding from one to three per centum additional to its `coat price. In some instances known to the Commission, this laddition, thus made by the manufacturer by reason of the payment of his general manufacturing tax, has amounted to over six per cent. Again, in the case of books, pamphlets, &c., a tax imposed on which, being a tax upon knowledge, can only be justified on the grounds of imperative necessity, it is claimed that, including licenses and income tax, the finished book and its constituent materials pay from twelve to fifteen distinct taxes before it reaches the reader. Every separate item that enters into the book— paper, cloth, boards, glue, thread, gold leaf, leather and type materials—pays from three to six per cent. in the first instance, and then five per cent. on the whole combined; and this not upon the cost of the manufac tured article, but upon the price at which it is sold. On cotton fabrics the tax now levied and collected ranges, according to the quality of the goods, from nine to fourteen cents per pound. On refined sugars the tax on gross sales, by reason of an inequality of adjustment between the tariff and the excise, is now claimed to be nearly equivalent to all the additional value conferred upon them in re fining by all the labor employed therein. Other articles, such as wagons, locomotives, ckc. ' might equally well be cited as illus trations. A similar duplication of taxation to that above described, must, in the opinion of the Commission, also attend the adoption of a tax on sales, which at present seems to find much favor throughout the country. Local taxes on industrial circulation in every State, county, township, and village of the Union would be confessedly calami tous; but they could not be as bad !as a frontier drawn around each individual in the nation over which nothing could pass in or out not smitten with a tax—repeatSd at each border. Another matter of more serious import ance; in its bearing upon the industry of the country, than the duplication of taxes, is the lack of equalization or adjustment between the tariff and the excise. This bubject, which the Commission from leek of time have not been able to inY,esti sate as hilly as they desired, but upon which they profess to present a special report, de mands the serious and prompt attention o THE DAIL*EYENINCr BULLETIN : PHILADELPHIA, TUESDAY; JANUARY 30, 1866. Congress. The nature of this inequality can be better illustrated by example than by argument. We, take as before, and as offering the most striking illustrations, the case of the umbrella and the book industries. - In the case of the umbrella and parasol , manufac ture, the cover, as a constituent element of construction, represents from one-half to two-thirds the entire cost of the finished article. The silk, the alpaca; and the Scotch gingham; of which the covers are made, all all imported, the former paying a duty of sixty per cent., and the latter two above fifty per cent. ad valorem. the varia tion being slight on the quality of texture. The manufactured umbrella, covered with the same material, whose constituent:parts are not taxed, either on the material used in their fabrication or on their sale, are however, admitted under the present tariff at a duty of thirty-five per cent. ad valorem, or at a discriminating duty against the American and in favor of the foreign pro ducer of from fifteen to twenty-five per cent. - - If we make allowance for the various United States Internal Revenue taxes, it is claimed by the American manufacturers that the discrimination in favor of the for eign producer is fully equal to forty per cent. It needs hardly to be added that during the past six months imported um brellas have been sold at auction .in New York and Boston, with the original c duty, freight and charges paid in gold, for a less price than the American article can be manufactured; or that the business of mak ing umbrellas and . parasols in New York and Philadelphia, involving a capital of $2,000,000, and employing the labor of some five thousand persons, a majority of whom are females, is threatened with utter de struction. In two instances cited to the Commission, umbrella manufacturers have closed their factories in the United States, and, with a view of exporting to this coun try. have transferred their capital and skill to Europe. The Commission add that at the present time the one article which, above all others, would seem to be a peculiar product of American industry, viz., Webster's Spell ing Book, is now being printed in large quantities in London, for the use of Amer ican schools. - Another striking illustration of the ne cessity for the equalization and adjustment of the Tariff and the Internal Revenue act is afforded in the case of Manilla rope. By the present Tariff act, Manilla hemp, im ported direct from Manila, is charged with a duty $25 ton; and when imported from Europe an additional duty of 10 1p cent. ad valorem, amounting to between $l5 and $25 p ton (according to its cost in Europe), making,in such case, the whole duty amount from $4O to $5O V ton. On the other hand, the duty on imported or Manilla rope is only 2 , 1 cents V pounds or $56 p ton. By the Internal Revenue act the tax on the manufacture of cordage is fixed at 6 p cent. on the market value, which at the present time amounts to about cents V pound, or over $33 V ton. It seems evident, there fore, that while the American manufacturers of cordage are paying a duty on hemp im ported directly of $5B p ton (and when im ported indirectly of $73 *p ton), and while the only duty on imported rope is but s.sri V ton, that not only are they without pro tection, but that there is a difference in the taxation against them, and in favor of foreign manufacturers, which must result most injuriously to this branch of business We.need only add that under this state of things the importations of Manilla cordage from Europe seem to be rapidly increasing The report next suggests the "Proposed Revenue Policy of the Future." In respect to the evils arising from exces sive duplication of taxes under the interne revenue system, and from a lack of equali zation between the tariff and the excise. it may be urged that the remedy for the latter difficulty is most easy, namely, by increas trig the tariff. To this, however, as a per manent measure, there are most serious objections, inasmuch as the lack of equali zation is not confined to the articlesspecified in our illustaations. but is very general,and will be more and more extensive as the val ue of currency approximates to that of gold: while an increase in the tariff, sufficient to remedy all the difficulties, would render the tariff itself almost prohibitory, or al least so high as to invite continued assaults. deprive it of all the elements of stability and increase the business of the contraban dist. The remedy, therefore, for the diffi culties above pointed out and illustrated, save in a few striking instances,which have probably resulted from oversight in the framing of the law, must, in the opinion of the Commission, be sought for in such a revision of the present internal revenue system as will look to an entire exemption of the manufacturing industryof the United States from all direct taxation (distilled and fermented liquors, tobacco, and possibly a few other articles excepted). Thisthe Com mission are unhesitatingly prepared to recommend. " As, however, the revenue derived from the excise on the industrial products of the country amounted to nearly sixty per cent. of the gross internal revenue in 1S03; to sixty-four and a half per cent. in 1564; and to nearly fifty per cent. in 1865, it is evident that a radical change of the kind recommended should not be made at unce, but gradually and according as experience satisfies us of our ability to substitute other and less objectionable forms of taxation, adequate to produce a revenue correspond ing to that relinquished. To endeavor to remedy the difficulties grow in gout of the present dupli cation of taxation and want of equalization between the excise and the tariff, by specific enactmens of ex emptions, as has been proposed by some, would, in the opinion of the Commission, be impracticable, and would crowd the statute book with such a detail of enumeration as would render the law exceedingly difficult of comprehension, and open the way for more gigantic frauds than are now practised. The evil is radical; the remedy must also be radical. Assuming, then, that the policy indicated, which we here state in brief to be the aboli tion or speedy reduction of all taxes which tend to check development, and the reten tion of all those which, like the income tax, falls chiefly upon realized wealth, is accepted as the desirable future revenue policy of the country, the question next arises, in what manner and to what extent can it be carried out, and at the same time ensure to the government a revenue adequate to its necessities. As the average of the present tariff is un derstood to be upwards of forty per cent. upon the invoiced value of those importa tions upon which duties are levied—the average having been greatly increased during the past few years by the imposition of duties or tea, coffee, and other articles previously on the free list, as well as by some additions to other articles—the Com mission, after making all due allowance for a possible reduction of some duties and an increase of the free list, think it safe to esti* mate the amount of revenue derivable from customs for the fiscal year 1867 to be at least one hundred and thirty millions of dollars. The Commission are unanimously of the opinion that the present rate of two dollars per gallon on spirits is in excess of the proper revenue standard, anti that a reduc tion will be for the interest both of the reve nue and of the country. The reasons which have led to this conclusion are presented is detail in the "special - report (No. 5) on dis tilled spirits," to which the Commission would respectfully ask attention. They accordingly recommended that the rate of tax on , distilled spirits be reduced to one dollar per gallon. . . With this rate of duty, and with the in crease in the annual consumption for Indus trial purposes; (estimated at no leas than ten million gallons), which must follow, the Commission are of the opinion,that,rnaking alltilowances for a certain amaint of illicit. distillation ; which,under any circumstances, Will take place, an average annual revenue Of at least forty millions of dollars from this source'may be collected. 'But, whatever may be the rate of tax agreed upon for the future, it is clearly evi= dent that a far more stringent and effective law than that which now exists is needed, if any fair proportion of the amount which government bas-a right to expect from this source is to be collected, and protection at the same time extended to the honest tiller as against the competition of his illicit competitor.- The Commission, therefore, present in connection with their special report upon this subject, a draft of a new law, which they believe will be effectual for the preven tion of fraud and the securing of the reve nue. This bill, which is necessarily arbi trary and restrictive, does not in some of its essential features meet the approval of a portion of the distilling interest of the country, and their opposition to it may be fairly exi,ected. The Commission have, however, given a great amount of time to he investigation of the subject, and have availed themselves of the judgment of the most experienced re venue officials, distillers and dealers from various sections of the country, and have also sought to acquaint themselves most thoroughly with the matter in which this subject is treated for revenue in the various States of Europe. The securing of a large revenue from dis tilled spirits in the 'United States is abso lutely necessary to insure the successful carrying out of any plan for simplifying the internal revenue system, and relieving the general industry of I:3 country from a burden of taxation which must inevitably result in disaster. No industrial interest in the country can better sustain the burden of taxation than distilled spirits. The pre cedent of all other countries are uniform in favor of taxing spirits to the maximum con sistent with revenue;and while any relaxa tion of the law on the one hand does not benefit the customer, its stringent enforce ment with a regulation of the business will not diminish the amount which appetite or industrial necessity demands for consump tion. _ As the present rate of tax imposed upon fermented liquors—viz., one dollar per bar rel of thirty-one gallons—is in excess of the rate imposed by any of the States of Europe, Austria excepted, and as the present rate moreover, in the opinion of the Commission after full consideration, is believed to be fully up to the revenue standard, and as snch is all but unanimously acquiesced in by the brewing interest of the country, they would, therefore. recommend that the exist ing rate be neither increased nor dimin ished. The determination of the proper mode of collecting the tax on fermented liquors, and preventing the large amount of fraud which has heretofore,undonbtedly,been committed in regard to the same, has been to the Com• mission a subject of no little difficulty. By reference to their Special report (N 0.6) it will be seen that a tax on nr - .lt in this country is not practicable; neither is the plan, also investigated by the Commission, of ganging and assessing liquor, either in "coppers" during the process of manufac ture, or subsequently while in the ferment ing vats. Abandoning both of these me thods, therefore, they have, with the full concurrence and assistance of the leading brewers of the country, devised a plan for collecting the tax by means of a stamp, printed on insoluble parchment paper, to be hffixed to each barrel sold and removed trom its place of manufacture, with a re quirement that the same be canceled by the retailer or consumer. Specimens of the stamps designed for thi purpose have been prepared for submission to Congress, while the full details of the plan for using them are given in the special report referred to. With the adoption of this system, and the retention of the present rate of excise, the Commission estimate that the Government may rely upon an im mediate annual revenue from fermented liquors of at least five millions of dollars. The attention of the Commission kas been especially given to the cotton product of the United States as a source of revenue, and they would refer to their special report, (No. 3) and also to the testimony accom panying the same, as embodying all the in formation requisite for the formation of a correct opinion on this subject. As the result of their investigations, the committed recommend that a tax of five cents per pouud be levied on and after Jnly 1. 18,66, upon all cotton the product of the United States; and that the same be collected of the manufacturer at the place of consumption, and of the merchant or factor at the port of export upon all foreign shipments. Such a Wan will not interfere with the growth and eultivatien of this staple, or its free move ment throughout the country, and, will re duce the machinery and the expenses of collection to their minimum. The above proposed rate of taxation on cotton, it is believed, will not prove in any degree detrimental to any national interest, and will yield a revenue, at twenty-two dol lars per bale, of twenty-two millions of dol lars for every million of bales, produced and sold for consumption. With a crop of three millions of bales, and a tax of five per cent per pound, the Government might de rive an annual revenue of $136,000,000 ; or ot $:-8,000,000 on a crop of four millions ot he I", which would be less than the crop of 1859-'6O. Of this sum-if the consumption of the United States shall reach, in either of these years, the consumption of 1860-the in habitants of the United States would pay about $21,000,000 ; and it is believed that there are few taxes which can be levied which would be so slight a burden to the consumer. The consumption of cotton per head m the United States, at the highest point ever attained to, has not exceeded twelve pounds. A tax or five cents per pound would, therefore, be an average of about sixty cents to each individual per an num. (See special report, No. 3.) As the crop of the present year, in_the opinion of competent persons consulted by the Com mission, is not likely to be less than two millions of bales—and if good seed can be obtained may exceed this figure—the Com mitision are of the opinion that the Govern ment may safely rely for the fiscal year end. ing June 30, 1867, upon a revenue from this source of at least forty millions of dollars, and for the future an average revenue from cotton of at least fifty millions of dollars may undoubtedly be relied upon. In respect to tobacco, the Commission, as 'the result of their investigations, are unani mously of the opinion that the tax should not be laid upon the leaf. The total amount received in 1865 from tobacco and its manufactures was $11,387,- 799. The amount received from tobacco in 1865 would, undoubtedly,. have been much greater had it been possible to prescribe ef fective revenue regulations respecting the immense stock of tobacco held in the South ern States at the close of the rebellion. The average annual taxable production of the different kinds of manufactured tobacco from September 1, 1862, to June 30,1865,was 42,809,168 pounds. This amount, at the pre sent rate of excise, would return an annual revenue .of $10,736,795. With some amend ment of the present law, and with the ex haustion of the stuck in the country, made in anticipation of the tax, which is now nearly effected,the Commission believe that the government may safely rely upon an annual revenue from this source for the im mediate future of at least eighteen millions of dollars ($18,000,000.) Although in many respects an obnoxious tax, yet falling ash does mainly upon accu mulation, it will probably be sustained with less detriment to the country than any other form of taxation, the excise on spirit uous and fermented liquors and tobacco excepted. The discrimination at present in the rate levied on incomes under and in excess of $5,000 is, however, unjust, being in fact a tax on the results of successful indus try and business entelprise; and the Com mission recommend that this discrimination be abrogated, and the rate be equalized.. They recommend that, in the future as sessment of income one thousand dollars be exempted from' taxation, and that, in assessing the income tax, no allowance whatever be made for house rent, or at least that the amount allowed to be deducted for rental should not in anv case be allowed to exceed three hundred dollars. For the future, with the changes above recommended, the Committee believe that the government may safely rely on an an nual revenue from this source of about fifty millions of dollars. From the excise on banks and railroads, the amount received during the fiscal year 1865 was $13,579,594, and the Commission assume tb e collection of a similar amount for the immediate future. By the amended act of March 3, 1865, a duty was imposed of one dollar on each bar rel of crude petroleum of forty-five gallons. The amount received from the time the tax went into effect until the close of the fiscal veer ending June 30, 1865, was $229,546 10. For reasons which will be found in detail in the Special Report (No. 7) on this subject, the t✓ommission recommend that the tax as thus imposed on crude petroleum be re pealed, and that the rates of tax on refined coal oil, petroleum, naphtha, benzole, dc,C.,be retained as at present. They are also, of the opinion that when the uses of all the elements of petroleum, and of the distillates of oil yielding coal and shale have been more fully developed, it will be possible for the government to de , ive a much larger revenue from these arti ( les, with a much lower rate of , excise than is now imposed. For the next fiscal year, the Commission believes that a!revenne in excess of $3,000,- 000 may be relied on from refined ooal oil and petroleum. Under the present excise law a tax of , wenty-four cents per gallon is imposed upon spirits of turpentine, and six per cent. ad valorem on rosin. It is represented to the Commission that the tax as at present imposed upon rosin and distilled turpentine is unequal and oppressive; but as the supply of Mese arti cles from the United States to a great ex tent controls the prices of the world, they are of the opinion that the tax on spirits of turpentine and rosin should not be wholly remitted, and that no drawback on their export to foreign countries be allowed. The most important results in this de partment of the revenue flow from the smallest stamp taxes universally diffused. Thus one-third of the revenue received from stamps in the fiscal year 1865 were derived from the three items of "bank check," "receipt" and "match stamps;" and from the first two (bank check and receipt stamp) the receipts for the fiscal year 1666 average about $.200,000 per month. The high prices of paper, colors and other materials have considerably reduced the demand for cards within the last four years; but it is the opinion of a committee of card manufacturers, as presented to the Commission, that with a uniform stamp tax of five cents per pack an annual revenue of at least $200,000 may be derived from this source. With this and some other amendments relating to proprietary medicines and simi lar stamped articles, the Commission are of the opinion that a revenue of at least twenty millions of dollars may behereaftercollected from stamps. The Commission submit the form of a bill intended to render the execution of the pre sent law more effectual, and they are of the opinion that with its adoption, or by the enactment of some equivalent provisions, a revenue of at least three millions of dollars may be secured from this source. The value of the whole real estate and personal property in the United States in 1860 was upwards of sixteen thousand mil lions of dollars ($16,159,000,000). Allowing thirty-two years as the lifetime of a genera tion, and assuming the legacy and succes sion duty at an average of one per cent., the receipts from this source should yield an nually five millions of dollars. From gross receipts the revenue for the fiscal year, 1865, was $9,697,866. Under this bead are included. mainly, the taxes levied on transportation and intercommunication, and as the majority of them, railroads ex cepted, yield but inconsiderable amounts, are in opposition to the general 'system of revenue, which the Commission recom mended, sound policy requires that they should be repealed as soon as practicable. Under this head are also included tele graph and express companies, the former of which pay five per cent. and the latter but three per cent. on the gross amount of their receipts. For this discrimination the Com mission can see no good reason. Express companies, as at present constituted, are, for the most part, monopolies, and the ave rage rate of profits paid by them is be lieved to far exceed the ratio of profits in almost any legitimate business. The Com mission, therefore, recommend that the tax on the gross receipts of telegraph and ex press companies be equalized, and are in clined to the ( pinion that the tax on re ceipts of express companies might be well advanced to a higher figure than five per cent. An increased revenue from such an advanced rate will compensate in some de gree for any reductions that may be made on the taxes now levied on bridges, toll roads, ferries, ships. tic. The revenue receipts from telegraph com panies for the fiscal year 1865 were $215,- 050 62; and from express companies, ;',529,275 89. Under the present law (section 120) the dividends and interest upon the bonds of certain corporations therein enumerated are made liable to the income tax, which is pay able by the proper officers of such corpora tions. The Commission are Unable to dis cover any valid reason why the moderate dividends of banks and railroad companies should be thus taxed, while the larger pro f' a of express companies, manufacturing and other corporations are omitted. As these returns are invariably made by an officer who has no pecuniary interest therein, it is believed that they are uniformly more nearly correct than the average returns of income by individuals; and they therefore recom mend an amenment of the law, which will include in the provisions of the above sec tion all important incorporated companies for whatever purpose organized. The Commission assume that the revenue derivable from gross receipts for the fiscal year ending June 30,-1867 will continue as at present, about $9,000,000. The Commission recommend that the present law imposing a tax of five dollars on every ten thousand dollars, or one• INN entieth of one per cent. on the par value of all stocks sold, be repealed, and in lieu thereof a tax of one dollar on ten thousand dollars, or tbe one-hundredth (1-100) of one per cent. on the par value of the stock, be substituted, and collected in the following Manner. That each sale of stock be accompanied by a bill or memorandum of sale, with the necessary stamp attached; and in default of lifflamg the necessary and required stamp on such bill of sale, the parties selling the stock and receiving the .money shall be lia ble to a penalty—one half to go to the in former and the remainder to the govern ment—the same to be recoverable at any time prior to toe expiration of twelve months from the date of the transaction. In adopting the principle of subjecting large and frequent business transactions, turning, on small profits, to the minimum pecific tax, the government will but follow a long recognized and sound commercial policy. , • -There is - , at present no tax-imposed on government securities,but they are included in the phrase, "Stocks, bonds or -other se.. curities," of the( section (ninety-nine) which , subjects brokers' sales to taxation. The Commission believe, howevq, that it would be a sound and wise policy to exempt all transactions for the sale and purchase or national securities from every form of in ternal taxation. The Commission also recommend that the• rate of tax levied on the sales of exchange and gold brokers be made to correspond with that proposed in reference to sales of stock brokers, and they submit a form of bill to that effect. From the aggregate tax on sales, the Commission assume, for the future, an an nual revenue of at least four millions of dollars. A recapitulation of the foregoing esti mates given us the following aggregate re sults for the fiscal year ending Tune 30,. 1E67: From Customs, From Excise, viz $40,000,000 5,000,000 Distilled spirits, Fermented liquors, Tobacco and its man ufactures, . 18,000.000 Cotton, raw.. 40,000,000 Coal oil, refined pet troleum, &c., . Spirits turpentine and rosin, Licenses, Incomes, Salaries,' . . . 2,000,000 Banks, . . . 15,000,000 StagiPs, . • . 20,000,000 Gross receipts, . 9,000.000 Sales, . . . 4,000,000 Legaciesandsuccession,:3,ooo,ooo 108,000,000 Miscellaneous receipts, 1866-67, 21,000,000 Aggregate; . . . $367,000,000- Adding to the above sum the amount re ceived in the fiscal year 1865 from the va rious direct and indirect taxes on industry, which, excepting the amounts derived from the excise on spirits. b,-er, tobacco, cotton, petroleum and naval stores,the Commission estimate at about sixty-eight millions of dollars, we have as the gross revenue possi ble to e derived from all sources,under the present rates, with the amendments above proposed, four hundred and thirty-five mil lions of dollars ($435,000,000). The estimates of the Secretary of the Trea sury for the expenditures of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, including interest on the publio debt, are, as already stated, two hundred and eighty-four millions of dollars. Allowing the annual expenditures to be in creased sixteen millions of dollars above these estimates (making an aggregate of three hundred millions of dollars), and set ting aside fifty millions additional for the reduction of the principal of the public debt, a surplus will remain (assuming the cor rectness of theestimates of the commission), applicable for the reduction of taxation, of eighty-five millions of dollars ($85,000,000). These estimates of revenue as above sub mitted, are less in the aggregate than what the Commission believe will actually be realized, without some unlooked for inter ruption of the trade and industry of the country; and the results of their continued investigations and enlarged experience deepen their conviction that the capacity of all the great sources of revenue have been under rather than overestimated. It was the opinion of the late Commis sioner of internal Revenue, founded upon his lame experience, that if the excise law, as it stands, were thoroughly and exactly enforced, the revenue from the excise alone would equal or exceed five hundred mil lions of dollars(e500,000,000)per annum: and in this opinion the tommission, from their own observation, fully concur. It need, therefore, be no matter of surprise that, with an increased efficiency and experience on the part of the revenue officers, the aver age monthly and quarterly receipts of in ternal revenue also continue progressively to increase. Accepting, then, the results indicated as substantially correct, the possibility of adopting and carrying out the revenue policy adopted by the Commission, viz: of concentrating the sources of revenue, and of relieving industry of all those burdens - which tend to check its development, is de monstrated. Such a system, which, in contrast with the present "diffused" system, may be termed the "concrete," is, in the opinion of the Commission, the only one adapted to the. age and to our condition—the only one com patible with great fiscal results, and with‘ that large freedom to industry and circula tion which alone can ever adequately supply the coffers of an enterprising, competitive and free people. The Commission retrommend that the change be made slowly, and for the present, and to begin July 1, 1866, or sooner, they urge the following changes : Ist. A repeal of section 100 of the amend ed act of March 3, 1865, (generally known as schedule A); such of its provisions as relate to and impose a tax upon "billiard tables" excepted. 2d. A repeal of all that part of section 94 of the amended act of March 3, 1865, which provides for the assessment and collection of taxes on repairs of engines, cars, car riages, ships. etc. 3d. A repeal (subject to certain excep tions) of all that part of section 94 which providek.:for the assessment and collectioniof taxes on wearing apparel. 4th. A repeal of the excise duty of two. dollars and forty cents per ton levied upon pig iron; the repeal of the duty of six cents per ton levied on mineral coal; and of the duty of one dollar per barrel on crude petro leum. sth. A repeal of all excise taxes on print ed books, magazines, pamphlets, reviews„ and all other similar printed publications. In addition to the reductions above speci ally referred to and recommended,the Com mission would further recommend that, on Saturday the Ist day of July, 1866, the taxes levied and paid upon all goods, wares and. merchandise enumerated in section 94 of the. amended act of March 3, 1865, be reduced fifty per centum ; and that no allowance of deduction whatever in the payment of the same for treight, commissions and other ex penses of sale be authorized or permitted. The Commission urge a new treaty of re ciprocity with Canada; shows that the busi ness of the New York Custom House is very badly conducted; point out inefficiency in the internal revenue administration, and suggest improvements. FOSSILS IN AUSTRALIA.-A. petrified tree was recently found in the Golden Horn). claim, near Geelong, in Australia, at a deptn of two hundred and fifty-eight feet. Pieces of the tree examined by thei microscope glisten like diamonds. In the same claim, at a depth of two hundred feet, several frctas, imbeclue,d in bluestone, have been disin terred, of a green and yellow color, without. any signs of mouth or respiratory organs. The Kentucky Senate has passed an act to• incorporate a negro bank at Louisville, one of the incorporators being worth 8100,000. They put in provision, however, "that the• said bank shall have no connection with. the Freedmen's Bureau,and that no persons. shall be permitted to act as officers who have ever lived in Boston, Mass." The Providence Press makes the state ment that a Hartford photographer has sac ceeded in taking a 'picture of himself, trundling himself home iu a wheelbarrow. There is no difficulty about, provided the• tistis betide himself. TNDIA RIIIIR.ER MACHINE BELTING STEAM PAC.KMI; ROSE. &c. Englneere and dealers will find a lint. AMORT MENT OF GOODY EAS'a PATIELNT VULCAN - Lana) RUBBIgt BY.LTENG. PACKING. HOSE, ao., at .the litannfactnreee Heaciquarten. • • GOODYEAR'S, Sun Cheetunt etreot, . _ _ South nide. N. B.—We, bave a .NEW and CHEAP ARTICLE et GASMEN and PAVF..M ENT IDX4E. very theap, to wOl sane attention of the pc.t.llc 'sculled.' '' • . $130,000,000, 3,000,000 2,000,000 108,000,000 15,000,000 40,000,000