XIV.—National Income and Capital.
An inquiry into this subject, interesting to every civilized nation, is of vital importance to one so load ed with taxation as England, and still doubtful of the time when she may recover from the unparallel ed burdens of the late contest. Mr Pitt, on first proposing the income-tax in 1798, made the follow ing estimate of the annual income of England and Scotland : Such are the returns under the property-tax ; but to this we must add a considerable sum for the de ductions allowed by government on incomes between L.50 and L.200 a-year, and a much greater for the wages of the lower orders. Of the population of England and Scotland, a vast proportion were wholly exempted from the property-tax, their incomes being below L.50 a-year. Supposing that the property-tax since the peace, would render somewhat less than in 1810, but that with the addition of the deductions for small incomes (from L.50 to L.200) the total return would be L.130,000,000, and adding to this L.70,000,000 for those wholly exempted, we have for England and Scotland an amount of L.200,000,000; to which, adding for Ireland (which has never been subjected to property-tax), a conjectural amount of L.25,000,000, the aggregate of the national income would be L.225,000,000. This sum is consider ably below the estimate of a writer of the pre sent day (Mr S. Gray on the Happiness of Stales) ; but he makes no allowance for the depreciation con. sequent on the change from war to peace; and does not, moreover, distinguish between that which is income, and that which is properly created, or the annual produce of land and labour. This distinction will be beat understood by transcribing from Dr Colquhoun's late work on the British empire, his This estimate Was examined with great attention by the Reverend Dr Beeke," who pointed out several heads, in particular tithes, which the minister had overrated ; while in others, such as the rent of houses, his computation was below the mark. Since that period, the income of our countrymen, at least the income as represented in money, has experienced a considerable rise, and the returns under the pro perty-tax have afforded a variety of useful data. We select the year 1810, as the latest return before the depreciation of our bank paper, and as equal (we fear more than equal) to the amount that would be de clared in time of peace.
A farmer's income is the profit resulting from his capital and labour; but the corn raised, or, in other words, the " property created" by him in the course of a year is obviously four or five times that amount. A manufacturer, in like manner, makes goods to an extent of probably ten times his income ; so that the two estimates,--we Mean that of income and that of property created, accord only in the case of profes sions, of salaries, of wages; and the result is, that the total property created in a year is nearly double that of income,—a distinction which explains the misapprehension of M. Say and others who have
taxed Dr Colquhoun with exaggeration.
What proportion does our taxation bear to our national means ? Taking our taxes as fixed by the late acts (July 1819), and estimating them by their gross produce,—such being the payment by the people, and adding the amount of poor-rates, we have (without considering the corn-laws in the light of a tax, and leaving the sinking fund altogether out of the question) an annual burden of fully L.70,000,000 Sterling, or one-third of the national income of Britain and Ireland!—while France, whose national income is at least equal to that of the three kingdoms, is subjected to a taxation of only half the amount - The next topic in this inquiry regards the amount of national capital. We subjoin two calculations, both inclusive of Scotland, and both made in the early part of this century.
XV.—Population.