There are several taxes, and they are collected quarterly. Collected is the word; they are not merely levied, they are collected--every time. This makes light taxes. It is in cities and countries where a considerable part of the community shirk payment that taxes have to be lifted to a burdensome rate. Here the police keep coming, calmly and patiently, until you pay your tax. They charge you 5 or 10 cents per visit after the first call. By experiment you will find that they will presently collect that money. Tax evasion and tax breaks lead to higher taxes. That isnt part of the dialogue in the US any more, but its all too true. This is pretty good non-fiction writing -- I had expected a string of one-liners and anecdotes. By writing travel books about Europe Twain was presumably in some degree parodying European travellers writing about American barbarians.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 20:20:13 +0000