ABSTRACT
§ 1. Much has been written on “ the distribution of the burden of taxation,” but the range of questions usually covered by this title is narrow. Assuming that the incidence of all taxes is known, and that the necessary statistics of income, consumption, etc., are available, it is possible to determine how the direct money burden of any tax system is, in fact, distributed among different individuals and classes. It is also possible to discuss, in general terms, how this direct money burden ought to be distributed. In such discussions it is usual to take account of the direct real burdens, which correspond to tax payments. But the indirect money burdens, and still more the indirect real burdens, of taxation are not, at this stage, brought under review.
