TCDE-Team at 22:18, 24 October 2019

2019-10-24T22:18:10Z

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''Income Tax Assessment'' is a letter written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] first published in [[The Evening News (Portsmouth)]] on 1 november 1890.

== Income Tax Assessment ==
[[File:income-tax-assessment-1890-11-01-evening-news-portsmouth.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[The Evening News (Portsmouth)]] (1 november 1890)]]

Sir, — I should like to ask through the medium of your paper
whether some change might be introduced by a strong expression
of public feeling, in the preposterous system of assessment. At
present the infliction is divided into two stages, that of the yellow
paper and that of the blue. On the yellow paper you are requested
to state under a number of headings which appear to be purposely
and most ingeniously contrived for the purpose of puzzling the
taxpayer, what your income is, and whence derived. This you do,
and return the document, prepared to pay tax on the amount
which you have ascertained to he correct.

Presently the blue paper trouble begins. You receive your tax
paper, and find that the Assessor has had the insufferable
impertinance to disregard your return completely, and to assess
you at a purely arbitrary sum, fixed by himself. It amounts to this
that income tax is levied not upon a man's income, but upon what
some gentleman or gentlemen in the background considers that a
man's income ought to be. Would it not be better for this
gentleman to put forward his guess in the first instance, and so
avoid the farce of the yellow paper altogether. Such an
arrangement would save both time and temper, for it takes time to
accurately fill a complicated form, and it is a little trying to the
temper to have it tacitly assumed that one's statement is a
misrepresentation.

And then you are assured that it is open to you to appeal. But
what does appealing mean? It means standing before a quorum of
one's fellow citizens, like a prisoner before magistrates, and going
through the humiliating ordeal of exposing one's private books,
and most intimate personal concerns to their criticism. The
assessor, when he takes such a liberty as to alter the return which is
sent to him, must know very well that nine out of ten of his victims
would rather suffer an injustice than have it redressed by such a
means. I recollect that some years ago, on the occasion of the
assessor's guess being peculiarly outrageous, I took the trouble t°
appeal, and, of course, obtained my reduction, but three times the
sum would not tempt me to go through the experience again.

If the Assessor has fault to find with the figures returned to him,
then the onus of disproving them rests with him. But to ignore the
taxpayer's return, and to place him in the dilemma of either
suffering an injustice, or of going through a degrading ordeal is all
intolerable scandal, and one which can only be removed by some
wide and forcible expression of public opinion.

I remain, sir, faithfully yours,

A. CONAN DOYLE.

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* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:Complete Works|Back to Complete Works]]
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Back to Conan Doyle]]

Income Tax Assessment - Revision history

TCDE-Team at 22:18, 24 October 2019