Constitutional history -- United States -- Sources; Constitutional law -- United States
The taxes intended to be comprised under the general denomination of
internal taxes may be subdivided into those of the DIRECT and those of
the INDIRECT kind. Though the objection be made to both, yet the
reasoning upon it seems to be confined to the former branch. And
indeed, as to the latter, by which must be understood duties and
excises on articles of consumption, one is at a loss to conceive what
can be the nature of the difficulties apprehended. The knowledge
relating to them must evidently be of a kind that will either be
suggested by the nature of the article itself, or can easily be
procured from any well-informed man, especially of the mercantile
class. The circumstances that may distinguish its situation in one
State from its situation in another must be few, simple, and easy to be
comprehended. The principal thing to be attended to, would be to avoid
those articles which had been previously appropriated to the use of a
particular State; and there could be no difficulty in ascertaining the
revenue system of each. This could always be known from the respective
codes of laws, as well as from the information of the members from the
several States.
The objection, when applied to real property or to houses and lands,
appears to have, at first sight, more foundation, but even in this view
it will not bear a close examination. Land taxes are co monly laid in
one of two modes, either by ACTUAL valuations, permanent or periodical,
or by OCCASIONAL assessments, at the discretion, or according to the
best judgment, of certain officers whose duty it is to make them. In
either case, the EXECUTION of the business, which alone requires the
knowledge of local details, must be devolved upon discreet persons in
the character of commissioners or assessors, elected by the people or
appointed by the government for the purpose. All that the law can do
must be to name the persons or to prescribe the manner of their
election or appointment, to fix their numbers and qualifications and to
draw the general outlines of their powers and duties. And what is there
in all this that cannot as well be performed by the national
legislature as by a State legislature? The attention of either can only
reach to general principles; local details, as already observed, must
be referred to those who are to execute the plan.
But there is a simple point of view in which this matter may be placed
that must be altogether satisfactory. The national legislature can make
use of the SYSTEM OF EACH STATE WITHIN THAT STATE. The method of laying
and collecting this species of taxes in each State can, in all its
parts, be adopted and employed by the federal government.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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