Taxation Without Justice; D. Stansel

Serious tax reform is not an ivory-tower dream. Former IRS Commissioner Fred Goldberg opines that tax reform is "the only way to liberate the American people from a system that is grotesquely burdensome and monstrous." A recent survey of 275 IRS workers found overwhelming support for tax simplification. If the bureaucratic beneficia ries of the current systemsupport real change, A Roundnp: TAXATION WITHOUT JUSTICE 421 why not the supposed representatives of the American people? Every tax season seems to end up the same. People pay too much in taxes. People spend too much money and time trying to comply with the tax laws. Congress does nothing. The President does nothing. Change will come only if the American people demand that something be done. 0 TaxationWithoutJustice by Dean Stansel H oW much justice is in our tax codes? Consider this sampling of some goods and services taxed in the United States today: • 2 percent on the lease or rental of linens and garments. (Alabama) • 5 percent on entertainment and informa tion services provided by telephone. (New York State) • 41.3 percent on imported grapefruit juice. (V.S.) • 1 percent on the mortgage to finance a building, when the amount is less than $500,000; 1.125 percent when the amount is over $500,000-this in addition to similar taxes imposed by the state. (New York City) • 7 percent on admission fees to movies, plays, and other "amusements." (Chicago) • 1 percent on urine-testing materials, sy ringes, insulin, needles for diabetics, and medical appliances for human use. (Illinois) Dean Stansel is a fiscal policy analyst at the Cato Institute, Washington, D. C.

Thanks to CCH Inc. (formerly Commerce Clear inghouse) for their assistance gathering data on city taxes. • 3.75 percent on gross receipts earned by retailers licensed to sell Christmas trees. (Los Angeles) • 9.5 percent on imported pimentos. (V .S.) • $4 per employee per month, paid by companies employing 50 or more full-time people who earn over $900 per quarter. (Chicago) • 0.3 percent of taxable gross income gen erated by water-softening and -conditioning businesses. (Indiana) • 1 percent on semen used for artificial insemination of animals. (North Carolina) • 9 percent on drinks sold at soda foun tains. (Chicago) • Vp to 38 percent on imported soda-lime glasses. (U.S.) • 0.08 percent on oysters; 2.1 percent on food fish generally; 3.15 percent for pink and sockeye salmon; 5.25 percent on chinook, coho, and chum salmon. (Washington) • 151.2 percent on imported parts for in expensive watches. (V .S.) • 38 cents per ton on asphalt manufactured for one's own use. (Florida) 422 THE FREEMAN • JULY 1997 • 50 percent on the cost of repairing a U.S.-registered ship in a foreign port. (U.S.) • $2 per gas pump for a company's first 50 pumps, and up to $10 per pump when a company has more than 600 pumps. (North Carolina) • 36.3 percent on imported in-shell pea nuts. (U.S.) • 15 cents per bale of cotton ginned. (Mis sissippi) • 25 percent on fees for mooring or dock ing a boat. (Chicago) • 0.5 percent of U.S. government sugar subsidies received by a sugar producer. (Ha waii) • 33 percent on imported wool-blend fab ric. (U.S.) • 21 cents per gallon of gasoline. This is on top of state and federal gasoline taxes. (Cook County, Illinois) • 4.5 percent of gross receipts from the sale of any motor vehicle to a member of the U.S.

Armed Forces who is on full-time active duty in the state but a permanent resident of another state. (Connecticut) • 41.9 percent on cheap imported brandy, selling for less than $2.38 per liter. (U.S.) • $2 per day per hotel room costing over $40 a day, added to a guest's bill (on top of city and state sales taxes). (New York City) • 3 percent on the sale of food through coin-operated vending machines. (Alabama) • $25 per year plus $150 per amusement device (like a video game), paid by amuse ment businesses. (New York City) • 3.75 percent of gross income earned by individuals licensed to work as an auctioneer and conduct business at antiques shows. (Los Angeles) • $10 for each store which is part of a chain with fewer than ten stores, and $550 per store which is part of a chain with over 500 stores. (Louisiana) • 50 percent of gross income of urban mass transportation companies. (Wisconsin) • 4.5 percent of base rent, due from com panies which pay more than $40,000 per year to lease officespace in Manhattan below 96th Street. (New York City) As the randomness of these examples sug gests, taxes seldom reflect any principles of justice that people can understand. Rather, taxes are the consequence of intense lobbying to gain special privileges and push as many burdens as possible on other taxpayers. The less of this, the better! 0 At What Price Will The Gold Standard Return?

"Gold isn't just anothercommodity.Gold is money. Some day an internationalmonetary crisismay rudelyawaken us to this reality." -Mark Skousen, author of Economics of a Pure Gold Standard 1797HalfEagle 5.00 Gold Piece Uncirculated Price History 1957- $700 1967- $3,800 1977- $9,500 1987 - $30,000 1997- $137,500 • Rare Coins • Expert Advice • Best Prices Tom Pilitowski 1-800-524-6321 1-954-979-2640 Special: Certified MS-63St. Gaudens Double Eagles, $525 each, plus shipping.