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Averaging Fluctuating Income Of The Individual For Income Tax Purposes, Clyde R. Maxwell, Jr.

Washington Law Review

It is a familiar feature of our system of taxation that tax rates be graduated in proportion with the ability of the taxpayer to pay. As income rises, the percentage of tax is increased by the so-called surtax. For the taxpayer with approximately the same income, year after year, an annual imposition of tax according to these rates is equable; but unlucky is the individual who has high income one year and low income the next, for he must pay a substantial amount of tax over and above that which he would have had to pay had his income been …