ABSTRACT
§ 1. HAVING formulated the main principles of sound taxation for thé normal life of the modern state, with the chief reforms in our present tax system which the application of these principles involve, we are confronted with the questions, ‘How far are these principles and reforms adequate to the financial emergency in which Great Britain stands after the war?’ ‘Is it possible or necessary to supplement normal methods of sound finance by some special levy designed to relieve the stress of the emergency and to expedite a return to more normal conditions of finance?’ In order to furnish an answer to these questions, it is necessary first to present an approximate estimate of the financial situation when the extraordinary expenditure involved in war has been concluded. For this purpose, it will be convenient to endeavour to forecast the situation presented at the close of the year 1919-20 when our national finance may be considered to have settled down on a more normal basis.
