Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 February 1881 — The Match Tax. [ARTICLE]

The Match Tax.

The cent-a-bunch tax on matches yields the Government a daily income of nearly SIO,OOO. Any one who desires can figure from this, approximately, how many matches are used per day. On the insignificant little bunch of matches is levied by far the heaviest tax known to civilized governments. Your grocer will charge 50 cents for a quarter-gross package. Of this sum 36 cents stands for the tax of a penny a bunch, while 14 cents represents the first cost and the manufacturer’s, jobber’s and retailer’s profits.