The History of Tariff Administration in the United States: From Colonial Times to the Mckinley Administration Bill

by Goss, John Dean, Ph.D.

• ISBN13: 9781616190903
• ISBN10: 1616190906
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-11-01
• Publisher: Lawbook Exchange Ltd

Summary

Repting of first and only edition. originally published New York: [Columbia University], 1891. 89 pp. Goss traces the tariff system through three avatars that often existed simultaneously: protective, preventive and punitive. From an ineffective colonial system that allowed importers to avoid payment through extended credit arrangements, to a somewhat less troubled system that demanded immediate cash payments in the early 1840s, to a punitive system designed to stymie smugglers during the Civil War, the collection of tariff duties was always problematic. This problem was enhanced in the wake of industrialization and protectionism when direct taxes began to supplant indirect taxation as the major source of government finance. Reviewing the history of American tariff regulation, Goss discerns a gradual process towards "more stringent supervision, regulation and control" (88). Originally published in the series Studies in History, Economics and Public Law edited by the Political Science Faculty of Columbia University.