Taxation of Unearned Incomes.

Besides Perpetual Pensions, which the Radicals have already driven out of existence, four hundred and fifty million pounds sterling, or more than a third of the annual income of the nation produced by the annual toil of the workers, is consumed, not by them, but by landlords and shareholders who do not, as such, perform a single stroke of work for the nation in return. Two hundre'd millions of this is rent : the other two hundred and fifty is called interest. This is the estimate made in the interest of the idle classes themselves; and therefore it is well under the mark. It does not include employers' profits, or the large incomes derived by educated or "highly connected" men from employments which are practically closed to the working class. In order to recover this large sum for the whole community, and at the same time free ourselves from the Customs duties which now fall upon our scanty wages through the dearness of the taxed goods we buy, we want to have it taken for public use by such means as a Land Tax (Taxation of Ground Values), largely increased Death Duties, and a progressive Income-tax upon unearned incomes. How high do we want to tax them? Twenty shillings in the pound—i.e., Complete Nationalization of all unearned incomes—will satisfy us. But we will take an instalment to begin.