G54 TAXATION AND DEBT. 



penses of gaugers — amount to $45,332, or 33.35 per cent, of the amount 

 collected, while for the whole United States the cost of collections 

 amounted to only 3 7-10 per cent. During the period of the tax 

 on cotton the collections in South Carolina were much larger, 

 amounting in 1866 to 34-100 per cent. ; in 1867 to 73-100 per cent., 

 and in 1868 to Ih per cent, on the collections for the whole United States, 

 and aggregating, in the yenv last named, $2,634,800. 



The collections made in the State are not, however, the criterion of the 

 amount paid on account of the tax within its limij,. For if no collections 

 whatever were made in the State by revenue officers, the citizens consum- 

 ing the articles taxed would pay the tax thereon. If the amount of 

 taxed articles consumed could be ascertained, the chief factor in the 

 amount of tax paid would be determined. This can be done only ap- 

 proximately. It is perhaps safe to assume that retail dealers in the 

 articles taxed make about the same average amount of sales everywhere. 

 The leading articles subject to the internal revenue tax are distilled 

 liquors and tobacco. Liquor dealers are less numerous in South Carolina, 

 where they are only about one to one thousand of the population, than 

 in the rest of the United States, where they average a little more than 

 three to the thousand. In special taxes on pursuits there is collected : 



In South Carolina, from retail liquor dealers $ 27,119 



In the United States 4,265,092 



In South Carolina, from dealers of manufactured tobacco . . 29,367 



In the United States 1,827,495 



This would make the percentage of the liquor trade .0066 of that of 

 the United States, and the retail tobacco business .016 per cent, of that of 

 the United States. Assuming, as above that these percentages represent 

 the percentages of these taxed articles consumed in South Carolina, and 

 that the tax is paid in proportion to their consummation, the statement 

 would be : 



Tax from distilled liquors collected in the whole United 

 States for the whole period Internal Revenue taxes have 

 been in force, $707,209,362, of which .0066 per cent, is 



paid by South Carolina $4,667,581 



Likewise of the $524,240,114 collected on tobacco, of which 



.016 paid by South Carolina 8,387,841 



These items form 80 per cent, of the Internal Revenue collec- 

 tions, and at the same ratio, 20 per cent, should be added 



to express the amount paid by South Carolina 3,263,854 



To these items add the direct collections in South Carolina for 



the whole period 7,743,334 



Making total revenue tax jmid in South Carolina .... $24,062,610 



