When a new source of taxation is found it never means, in practice, that the old source is abandoned. It merely means that the politicians have two ways of milking the taxpayer where they had one before.
Interpretation
The introduction of new taxes often leads to the continuation of existing ones, increasing the burden on taxpayers.
H. L. Mencken's quote highlights the tendency of political systems to expand taxation rather than simplify it. When a new tax is introduced, it rarely replaces an old tax; instead, it adds to the financial obligations of taxpayers, allowing politicians to extract more resources without reducing previous levies. This illustrates a broader critique of government fiscal policies and the behavior of politicians in managing public finances, often prioritizing revenue generation over taxpayer relief.
In practice
During a debate on fiscal policy, one might use this quote to emphasize the need for tax reform.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
(A Foreign Secretary) is forever poised between the cliche and the indiscretion.
Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic.
Let there be an end to the arrogance of the big powers who miss no opportunity to put the rights of the people in question. Africa's absence from the club of those who have the right to veto is unjust and should be ended.
A government which lays taxes on the people not required by urgent public necessity and sound public policy is not a protector of liberty, but an instrument of tyranny. It condemns the citizen to servitude.
If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question.
African countries lose the most from tax dodging. African governments must, therefore, do more to push for a full reform of the global tax system and demand action from countries, such as the U.K., whose financial centres sit at the heart of the global network of tax havens.
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