Note 218 — Chapter XXIII · TAXATION AND PUBLIC FINANCE

Real estate is in plain sight and cannot be concealed from the taxing authorities; but stocks, bonds, notes, and so forth, are kept in a safe where no one sees them but the owner. There is no way of knowing how much taxable wealth a man has hidden away unless he is honest enough to tell. In some states the plan of taxing intangibles has been given up altogether on the ground that such taxes are too easy to evade. As a substitute these states impose a tax on the income from intangibles and require every person to make, once a year, a sworn statement of such income.