"Address of the President of the United States before the National Republican Club at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York, February 12, 1924": pages 216-227.

Taxation The People's Business by Andrew W. Mellon Many of the views on taxation herein expressed have appeared from time to time in letters to Committees of Congress and to various organizations and individuals. It has seemed worth while to collect these views and publish them in a compact form, to which are appended also various tables and documents of possible interest to students of taxation. I am indebted to The Forum magazine, The Independent, and others for permission to publish excerpts from articles. I also wish to express my indebtedness to Mr. S. Parker Gilbert, former Under Secretary of the Treasury, and to the Under Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Garrard B. Winston, for the invaluable assistance which he has rendered not only in the preparation of this book but in the conduct of the public business of the Treasury.

A masterful explanation of the American tax system by the reformer Andrew Mellon. During his 11 years in office as Secretary of the Treasury for Harding and Coolidge, he cut income taxes, reduced public spending, and brought an end to the excess profits tax, all while reducing the federal debt left over from World War I. The opening words are a classic summary of his tax policy: “The problem of the government is to fix rates which will bring in a maximum amount of revenue to the Treasury and at the same time bear not too heavily on the taxpayer or on business enterprises. A sound tax policy must take into consideration three factors. It must produce sufficient revenue for the government; it must lessen, so far as possible, the burden of taxation on those least able to bear it; and it must also remove those influences which might retard the continued steady development of business and industry on which, in the last analysis, so much of our prosperity depends. Furthermore, a permanent tax system should be designed, not merely for one or two years nor for the effect it may have on any given class of taxpayers but should be worked out with regard to conditions over a long period and with a view to its ultimate effect on the prosperity of the country as a whole. These are the principles on which the Treasury's tax policy is based, and any revision of taxes which ignores these fundamental principles will prove merely a makeshift and must eventually be replaced by a system based on economic rather than political considerations.”Such insight rewards applause, and we must take these words to heart. Despite the fact that this study was conducted during the 1920s, the lessons and ideas Mellon expresses are truly timeless.

Published in 1924, this volume contains various views on taxation within the United States.

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