Excerpt from The Methods of Taxation: Compared With the Established Principles of Justice
So many theories and problems are comprised under the general name of taxation as to make it difficult to treat them systematically. But, on examination, we discover principles that may be made to bring some order out of the apparent chaos. These principles may properly be called the methods of taxation; although the term "method," as here employed, is not quite free from ambiguity. It is often used as synonymous with measure; but the measures of taxation devised by legislators are infinite in number. It is obviously necessary to classify these measures, if we treat them at all, and the process of classification according to rational principles exemplifies what is correctly denominated a method. At the same time, the practical applications of these principles are in common speech called methods, and it would be pedantic to ignore this usage, at least where to adopt it will cause no obscurity.
There can be no really adequate criticism of the methods of taxation without some consideration of the right of property. To tax is necessarily to interfere with this right; the revenue of rulers is drawn from the revenue of subjects. Nor can we determine the extent and manner of this interference without referring to the commonly accepted principles of justice.
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