Taxes Fret Our People

Hello Folk's — From some distance two soldiers looked on as a young woman chased her hat, which had been blown off by a gust of wind. "That girl's from the country," said one of them, "How do you make that out?" asked his companion.

You can always tell a country girl from a city girl if there's a good wind, replied the first. "A country girl grabs her skirt — a city girl, her hat."

--o--

There is a lot of talk about taxes at a time like this. What with the legislature in session and the state treasury in a deficit. A lot of the talk is just babbling of someone who wants to make an impression or play politics.

Time was when we believed that we could ask for anything and not have to pay for it through taxes. Those days are gone forever. In days past the taxes were paid mostly by the wealthier people. The average man didn't notice the taxes so much because they were hidden in the cost of the things he or she bought.

From now on we pay dearly whether we want to or not. The pity is that the ones least able to pay are the ones who get hurt the most. I mean by deficit spending nationally we cheapen the dollars that the aged, who hanging prepared for their future have saved up. That leaves them victims of inflation which has been brought on by the politicians who are unwilling to face the facts of life, namely, that we have to pay for what we get whether we want to or not.

There is a lot of talk about a sales tax. It is pretty obvious that some of those who talk the most against the sales tax would just as soon see it brought into effect just so that they would not have to be the ones to have their names connected with it.

I am personally not in favor of straight sales tax but the thing that makes me pretty disgusted is while certain 'smart' politicians condemn the sales tax they never open their mouths against the personal property tax.

To my estimation that is one of the most unfair taxes there is. It is assessed against us without any regard as to the ability to pay.

For instance the average farmer pays over $100 in personal property taxes and he has to have the valuation in order to stay in business, not only that out the amount he has to pay is going up every year, as the cost of farming is going up. Yet you never hear these 'sales tax sobbers' crying over the property tax; this despite the fact that someone with the same income and sometimes twice the income get by with a few paltry dollars.

A sales tax could be made quite fair with a $10 per capita rebate when the income tax report is filed. That way the large families, who would  be hurt the most by a straight sales tax, would not be the victims the tax and the many tourists who frequent our state during the vacation season would pay quite a sum into the treasury which would help reimburse the money Minnesotans pay into other states in the way of sales taxes when they travel be beyond our borders.

Another thing the sales tax sobs try to tell the public is that a sale tax would hurt the economy of the state. Such a statement is just no so, as far as I can determine. Certainly none of the 30 some state. who have a sales tax think so and their economy don't show it either.

I will agree that an income tax is the fairest sort of tax their is and I believe that as it is proposed now it would be the best solution to Minnesotas problem.

The only thing wrong is that it still covers only halt of the present state deficit with the pay-as-you-go expected to balance it for this biannium, and the hard pill to be faced again two years hence.

We had better face the hard fact: now and not be satisfied with a temporary expediency only to find ourselves faced with a worse problem later.

Lastly let's not let the politicians brains-wash as about taxes. They can't if we are informed, but they'll sure try it if they think they can get by with it.