CHANGES NEEDED.

9

undo the very work on which we have spent so muchtrouble in establishing a savings bank system. All pro-posals for a graduated income tax necessarily provide forthe exemption of incomes under a certain amount, for itwould not pay to collect a tax on a laborer’s wages. If,in order to remedy this, its payment be made a conditionof the suffrage, it opens a wide door for corruption ; and,if not so constructed, such a system would exempt thegreater part of the public from all share in the publicburdens.

“ It is to be feared, therefore, that the fairness whichbelongs to the principle of an income tax cannot bemade to attach to it in practice.” (Mill ’s “ Principles ofPolitical Economy,” p. 555.) 1

Now, as to the inheritance tax: that is an occasionaland uncertain duty, like the old aids, reliefs, and ward-ships, and the effect of it is, like that of other taxes onpersonal property, to drive away capital. The Americancolonies at Paris , Pau, Rome, and London are alreadysufficiently large for American interests. A tax oninheritances violates the canon that taxes should beassessed at the time when they can be most easily paid,since almost all estates are pressed for ready money, andone cannot pay taxes with a note or by hypothecating“ cat and dog ” securities, valuable as they may eventuallyprove to be.

For other objections see Fawcett’s “ Manual of Political Economy.