SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY NEW YORK 1921 PREFACE BELIEVING that the fiscal aspects of state income taxes were in danger of being overlooked in the enthusiasm for progressive income taxation, the writer made a brief study of the yield and cost of these taxes early in 1920. The paper appeared as “ Fiscal Aspects of State Income Taxes ” in the American Economic Review for June, 1920. In the present study an attempt has been made to present more fully the facts which represent the financial standing of these taxes, together with a description of their background and of the manner in which they operate. The writer wishes to acknowledge indebtedness to Mr. A. E. Holcomb of the National Tax Association for help ful suggestions and for permission to reprint the material in the appendices, to Mr. Nils P. Haugen, formerly chairman of the Wisconsin Tax Commission and to other state officials who have generously supplied information which was not available in published reports, and especially to Professor Edwin R. A. Seligman of Columbia University, under whose direction the study was carried on and whose constructive criticism made its accomplishment possible. ALZADA COMSTOCK Mount HOLYOKE COLLEGE, JUNE 20, 1921. 5] 409023 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE THE EVOLUTION OF THE STATE INCOME TAX 1. Early faculty taxes . ...................... 2. State income taxes in the nineteenth century. ... 3. Recent income tax legislation ................. 4. The changed attitude towards the tax ............. 5. The development of model income tax laws .......... 1. History of the legislation • .................. THE TAXATION OF INCOMES IN MISSISSIPPI AND OKLAHOMA 1. The present Mississippi tax . . 1. The earlier taxation of incomes . ... 2. Financial results in Massachusetts .......... 86 |