The author holds that the war’s legacies of indebtedness and its large sudden demands of state expenditure for reconstruction, calling for an enormous increase in tax-income, necessitates a re-examination of the principles of tax policy. “Recognizing that the normal annual tax-income can only be derived from the incomes of the several members of the nation ... we are confronted first with the necessity of distinguishing the portions of personal incomes that have ability to bear taxation from those that have not such ability.” (Preface) The object of the book then is to arrive at a clear definition of ‘ability to bear’ and to ascertain the reforms needed to conform the demands of taxation to this principle. The book falls into two parts. Part 1: Principles of tax reform, contains: Ability to pay; The taxable surplus; The shifting of taxes; The taxation of income; Reforms of income-tax: Death duties; Supplementary taxes; Tariffs for revenue. Contents of part 2, Emergency finance, are: Our financial emergency; A levy on war-made wealth; A general levy upon capital; Relations of imperial to local taxation; Index.
“We no doubt adopt philosophies to justify what we want to do or have decided to do, not as a means of ascertaining what we ought to do. By working out the philosophy to justify the tax system which England is apparently heading toward, this book by Professor Hobson will be of outstanding influence.” C. L. King
+ Ann Am Acad 90:172 Jl ’20 700w Ath p570 Jl 4 ’19 40w Booklist 16:330 Jl ’20
“Worth the attention of all students of economics, legislators and taxpayers in the United States as well as in Great Britain.”
+ Ind 104:248 N 19 ’20 70w
“Of the ways and means of ascertaining the taxable capital and of collecting the levy, Mr Hobson does not say as much as one would like. But he is dealing primarily with principle rather than with practice.” R. R.
+ − Nation 110:431 Ap 3 ’20 1000w
“That Hobson has few illusions regarding the nature of the present regime, is clearly evident in the second, more interesting half of this volume.” L: Jacobs
+ − N Y Call p10 Jl 4 ’20 1300w