ABSTRACT
We turn now to examine, in the light of the issues raised in the preceding chapter, some of the main considerations which affect the choice of tax base for a system of direct taxation. We do not cover all the relevant factors in this chapter. For example, we postpone for more detailed consideration in later chapters the administrative problems involved in operating the different tax systems and the transitional problems involved in moving from one base to another. Furthermore, we postpone until Chapter 6 all consideration of the very important differences which inflationary conditions may have on different tax bases. Our present concern is with some of the basic issues of principle; and we confine the analysis in this chapter to the economic considerations which would be relevant in the absence of any serious price inflation.
