THE BURDEN OF TAXATION. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

SIR,—In your issue of January 27th you referred to the comments of an American, Mr. Wilson Lawrenson, who thought we should be well advised to let the world, and especially his part of it, know the burden in taxation which this country is quietly bearing.

I have taken out the burden in outgoings during 1922 for rent, rates and taxes on a meadow comprising 10.71 acres

which I rent. It is in an urban area.

follows It works out as s. d.

Rent

.• •

• •

• •

• •

48 0 0 Local Rates ..

• •

• •

18 0 0

Income-tax—Sch. A.

• • • • • •

12 1 6

PI • Sch. B

• • • •

27 0 0

£105 1 6

Of this my landlord repays me Sch. A, so he receives net 285 18s. 6d. from me ; but as he pays super-tax he only. retains net probably 129. It comes to this : that on this ten and three-quarter acres the Imperial Authority receives 246, the local authority 218, the landlord 229. The tenant is paying 298 apart from the expenses of fencing and mainten- ance. People in this country take their burdens very stoically, often because they do not take the trouble to work out what they really are paying. How many men buying a pound of tobacco realize that they are paying the Government about 8s. each time they do it. If the Germans were taxing themselves on this scale, would there be any necessity for the coercive measures now very rightly being applied by the