Page:LewisMeriam-TheProblemOfIndianAdministration.djvu/126
- That it is in general highly desirable that the states should as rapidly as possible assume responsibility for the administration of activities which they can effectively perform alike for whites and for the Indians with a single organization, with the exception of activities that are directly concerned with Indian property. Experience tends to demonstrate that national control and supervision of property must be about the last of the activities transferred to the states.
To avoid any possibility of misunderstanding regarding the position taken with respect to the taxation of Indians, it should be clearly stated that it is regarded as highly desirable that the Indians be educated to pay taxes and to assume all the responsibilities of citizenship. The survey staff by no means advocates the permanent existence of any body of tax exempt citizens or a policy of indefinitely doing for people what they should be trained to do for themselves. The matter of taxation, however, like other problems in the Indian Service, should be approached from the educational standpoint. In the first lessons in taxation the relationship between the tax and the benefit derived from it by the Indians should be direct and obvious. The form of the tax should be one that has real regard for the capacity of the Indian to pay. The old general property tax has many defects as a system for well established white communities; it is often ruinous as a first lesson in taxation for an Indian just stepping from the status of an incompetent ward of the government to one of full competency. His chief asset is land which bears the full brunt of his tax, and he has relatively small income from which to meet it. An income tax would be far better for the Indian just emerging from the status of incompetency than the general property tax. What is advocated, is not that the Indian be exempt from taxation, but that he be taxed in a way that does not submerge him.
A few words should also be added to prevent misunderstanding with respect to the position taken in the matter of cooperation with the states. Such cooperation is highly desirable. Ultimately most of the Indians will merge with the other citizens and will secure governmental service mainly from the state and local governments. The sooner the states and counties can be brought to the point where they will render this service and the Indians to the point where they will look to the government of the community in which