codification of the statutes has also in itself effected some reduction in the number of statutes printed. Some subjects discussed in the earlier edition have been omitted as of minor importance; notably the enumeration of the purposes for which towns may expend money raised by taxation. As these purposes are now brought together in one section of the General Laws, the omission of this subject is no serious loss; but it is with genuine regret that the author has been obliged from lack of space to omit in most cases the abstracts of the facts of the decisions cited in the notes, which were contained in the first edition. The enactment of the General Laws and the consequent inclusion of all tax statutes in one compilation has made a different arrangement of the statutes possible from that which was used in the first edition, and the author has in this edition set forth the laws relating to taxation in the exact sequence in which they appear in the General Laws, and has used no other chapter and section numbers than those of the statutes. While this arrangement may not in all cases be the most logical, it is far less confusing to those using the book who are accustomed to the arrangement of the General Laws than an arrangement made in accordance with the author's individual conceptions. Those who used the first edition and experienced the difficulty in finding particular topics on account of the length of the sections and the absence of section headings on each page will doubtless be gratified to find that in the present edition the index references are to pages, and that at the head of each page can be found the number both of the page and of the chapter and section of the statutes under discussion. In other respects the arrangement of the first edition has been retained; but the entire work has been rewritten from cover to cover and there is comparatively little of the text of the first edition left without material alteration. The author trusts that the new edition of the work will prove helpful to those interested in the subject of taxation. PHILIP NICHOLS. TABLE OF CONTENTS PRINCIPLES OF THE LAW OF TAXATION 1. The Power of Taxation Defined. 2. Taxes Distinguished from other Pecuniary Impositions. 3. Tax Distinguished from a Sale of a Commodity. 4. Taxation Distinguished from Regulation.. 5. Tax Distinguished from Inspection Fee. 6. Taxation Distinguished from other Governmental Powers.. 18. Obligation to give full Faith and Credit to Acts of every other State. 19. Limitations on the Taxing Powers of the States by Treaties.. 15. Impairment of the Obligation of Contracts.. 16. Exemption from Taxation as a Contract Protected by the Constitution.. 20. The Taxation of Interstate Commerce, and of Property Engaged Therein 21. Taxation of the Privilege of Engaging in Interstate Commerce... 22. Taxation of Domestic Corporations Engaged in Interstate Commerce. TAXATION OF THE PROPERTY AND INSTRUMENTALITIES 26. Taxation of the Property of the United States..... 27. Securities Issued by Authority of the United States. 28. Federal Officers and Employees... 44. The Situs of Intangible Personal Property. 45. Particular Classes of Intangible Property . . 46. The Situs of Personal Property in the Hands of a Fiduciary 47. Situs of Property for Purposes of Inheritance Taxation. 48. Territorial Jurisdiction for the Levy of Excises.... THE CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS 51. The Limitations on the Taxing Power in the Constitution of Massachusetts 52. Proportional Taxation under the Constitution of Massachusetts..... 53. Power of the Legislature to Grant Exemptions.. 54. Excises under the Constitution of Massachusetts. 55. What Constitutes a Commodity.. 62. The Purposes for which a City or Town may Levy Taxes.. 63. Constitutional Rights of the Taxpayers of a City or Town. STATEMENT SHOWING SOURCES AND DISPOSITION OF PUBLIC REVENUES WITH AN ABSTRACT OF THE TAX LAWS................... DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES 11 to 16 inc. Assessment of Expenses of Department upon Corporations and 29. Establishment of Tax Limit.... 41. Expenses of Auditing Municipal Accounts. 57. Interest on Debts Incurred by a City or Town in Aid of a Railroad. 22. Distribution of Tax on Street Railway Companies. 23. Distribution of Tax on Railroad, Telephone and Telegraph Companies... |