Obfervatians on Lord Lauderdale on Revenues 
604 
pital paffing by fucceffion; and to con- 
tinue this tax, even after the termination 
of the «war, for the purpofes of liquidating 
es of the national debt, and diminifhing 
the taxeson confumable commodities. The 
ae then is, whether a tax on fuccef- 
fisn is preferable to thofe which it-is 
meant to replace. 
Without entering upon the dittinétion 
which Lord Landerdale has adopted, be- 
tween tre nature of the rights to ‘property 
and to inheritance; it will readily be al- 
lowed, that a tax an fucceffion paki in 
geneval, produce lefs of hardthip to the 
contr ibutors, than almoft any ether man- 
mer in which an equal revenue could be 
raifed. . Cafes of dire&t fuccefiion mutt 
however beexcepted. Children are ufually 
maintained. from the income of their pa- 
rents, and may be confidered as having, 
‘in almoft every refpect except the manage- 
ment, a joint property with them. At the 
déath of ‘the father, that part of the in- 
come which was derived from his exertions 
is always | loft to the family, and this part, 
in moft cafes, greatly exceeds what he him- 
felfhad confumed. It would be extreme- 
dy hard, at the very time that the family 
is unavoidably deprived. of part of their 
former income, to occafion a fill yd 
reduction, by levy ing a heavy tax for th 
ufe of the Rate, It would not ouly be 
taking from them what th hey had the rea- 
fonable expectation of enjoying, but, 
what: Lerd Lauderdale observes isa griev- 
ance of a much more ferious nature, it 
would be depriving them of thofe comforts 
and conveniences which they have long 
had the habit of enjoying, Accordingly, 
both in this country a id Holland, dire 
‘fucceffions are exempt ted.from the taxes. 
Tevied on collateral; an exemption which, 
if admitted, and it could not in juftice be 
refufed, would in a great meafure defeat 
‘the ends propoted in Lord Lauderdale’s 
plan. 
In confidering that iportane point in 
taxation, the fecility of collection, I think 
it muft be allo: meds that a tax on fuccef- 
fion weuld upon the whole be lefs liable 
to frauds on the one hand, and vexatious 
ferutiny on the ether, than a revenue af- 
fefled annually, either on capital or in- 
come; w hile it would certainly be attend- 
ed with lefs epence in the colle ious than 
taxes on confumeable commodities. But 
there would ftill remain confiderable dif. 
ficulties in levying this tax from property 
vefted in trade. 
When a merchant dies, his fortune “is 
-ufually po in fpeculations, of which 
‘the iffee is uncertain... Until the event of 
- 
_[Sept. 
all his adventures is afcertained, his books 
cannot be finally clofed, nor the amount 
-of the tax determined. During this pe- 
riod, it would be hard on his fueceffor, 
and difadvantageous to the community, 
to keep his property idle and unproduc- 
tive. The heir, being on this account im- 
mediately admitted to pofleffion, and al- 
lowed to a& in every relpet as proprie- 
tor, may, in a very fhort time, great] 
increafe or diminifh the wealth to which 
he fucceeded. Finding fome of his pre- 
deceffor’s {chemes unproductive fer want 
of fufficient capital, he may render them» 
highly advantageous by making advances 
from his own private funds ; he may fee 
occafion to extend fome of his fpeculations, 
and to modify, or even totally abandon 
others. How fhall we now difentanele 
his affairs from thofe of his predeceffor # ye 
How fhall we diftinguith the effe&ts of his 
capital, facacity, and labour, or of his 
negligence and incapacity, fo as to dif- 
cover what ought to be deemed the 
amount of the inheritance? Even if we 
fhould permit that kind of [crutiny which 
is the ftrongeft objeCtion to alldirect afleif— 
ments, we “hall have little chance of af- 
certaiming the truth. While on the one 
hand the amount of ‘the tax holds out fo 
powerful a a temptation to fraud, and, on 
the other, there is fo:much di ifGeulty 3 in 
judging of the real amount of the fuccef- 
fion, all fuch inquifitions muft be more 
productive of bribes to the efficers, than 
of revenue to the ftate. 
With refpeét to merchants engaged in 
co- -partneries, a taxon ficeeflion muf 
have this farther inconvenience, that it 
publifhes, in fome meature, the cireum- 
itances of the furviving partners. “It is 
true, that ‘the books of commercial com- 
panies are, even at prefent, open to the in- 
{peétion of the heirs of a deceafed partner 5 
but thefe heirs have ufually an intereft in 
concealing from the public the refult of 
their inveftigation. Were the beoks to 
be equaliy open to the revenue-officers, 
who can have no intereft in any fuch ccn- 
cealmient, the affairs of a mercantile com- 
pany would be completely difclofed at the 
death of each partner. Indeed, as the fum: 
to be levied at’ one time matt be much 
greater by ‘a tax on fucceffion, than by 
annual affefi iment, the temptation to con- 
cealment would be propor tionably ftronger, 
and the neceflity of an accurate inveftiga- 
tion more indifpenfible ; ; and in fo far 
this plan is prod bably more obje€tionable 
than an annual affefiment. 
It may be added, that many expedients 
would probably be -devifed, by varrous 
forms 
