5
533
Sea
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them a time limit for surveying and building the line so &8
to remedy the conditions in Kochiu as soon as possible.
Taxes.
The question of improving water supply and transpor-
tation although of great importance will require a 'considera-
ble time to accomplish, and the easiest and quickest way to
encourage the tin industry is by reform of taxation.
There are two kinds of taxes on tin in Kochiu; i.e.
(1) the tax proper, (2) the railway shares. The former is a
tax of $122 levied on every 2500 catties of tin regardless of the
fluctuation in price of quality of tin. The local term for
2500 catties of tin is one "sheet". The Yunnan Szechuan Rail-
way share amounts to Taels 50 per *sheet" and that of the Ko-
pi Railway $50 for every six piculs od concentrate. It so
happens that 6 picule of concentrate yield 2500 catuies of tin, so every sheet has to pay about $120 as railway shares.
Bearing in mind that the shares can earn no interest before
the construction of the railways and that purchase is compul-
sory, there is really no difference between tax proper and
railway shares. Thus the total tax on a "sheet" come to about
$240. Taking the price before the European War to be $1500 per ton the tax amounted to about 10% of the gross value. It is hardly necessary to emphasize that such a tax is crushing
and detrimental to the industry.
Revision of Kochiu Taxation.
I think the tax imposed by the present mining reṛu-
lations is too light and perhaps not very practical; on the
dther hand the tax in Kochiu needs revision on the follow-
ing points.
1.
Taxation according to mærket value of tin.
Although the chief buyers of tin are foreign
merchants
merchants and the market prices are governed by foreign quotation, tin is taxed always at the same rate regard- less of fluctuation of prices, so the tax is heaviest
when the price of tin is lowest. At the outbreak of the war (August 1914) the price of tin fell sharply by 50% so that the tax amounted then to nearly 18% of the value of tin, with the result that from 50% to 60% of the miners are bankrupt.
Nor is this all. The Kochiu mines were originally lead mines. Most of the mines produce also lead ores. The lead and tin ores having about the same specific gravity baffles not only the native method of separation but possibly also a modern dressing plant.
The melting point of lead being higher than that
of tin, it would seem theoretically possible to separate the two metals in a refinery, but it is found in prac- tice that practically all the lead is retained in the
tin forming a kind of alloy. This lead-tin alloy is valued at much lower figures than pure tin, but there is no differentiation made in the present method of taxa- tion between pure tin and lead tin, (all being $250 catties) and the mines that produce mixed tin and lead
ores have had to close down.
It the tax was varied to suit the changing market prices of tin and alloy, not only could the tin mines continue to work when the price of tine falls, but the tin and lead alloy might also become an important product of the province.
2. Abolition of railway shares.
Apart from $122 of tax proper each "sheet" has to
pay for shares for the construction of Yunnan-Szechuan and Kochiu railways. It is beyond doubt that the cost of building the Yunnan-Szechuan line surpasses the finan-
cial
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