The Net Income and Excess Profits Should Be Kept as the Main Sources of National Taxation

to bear tax burdens. Some objections have been raised to the use of the principle, but most of them are weak and apply to some of the purposes for which it has been proposed rather than to the tax itself. Much litigation has arisen over its use, but the court decisions have generally strengthened the position of the principle as a part of fiscal systems. In the use of the tax, many problems have arisen, particularly in the formulation of just laws, and in the double and multiple taxes which have been placed upon single estates because of conflicting jurisdictions. The tax has been used by the Federal Government at different times as an emergency measure, and may be continued as a part of its fiscal machinery. The states have used it more or less since 1826 but it is only in recent years that much importance has been attached to the fiscal possibilities. Foreign countries have developed comprehensive systems of inheritance taxes. Since inheritance taxes so admirably supplement income taxes, and since each has become so deservedly popular among fiscal authorities and officials, it is not too much to expect that each will hold a place of vital importance in future revenue systems, not only of federal governments, but also of the provinces and states. Because of its backwardness in the past, the United States may be looked upon to furnish examples of the most rapid extension of the use of inheritance taxes during the next few decades

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