RENT  TAX  CANNOT  BE  SHIFTED  35

“The  incidence  of  the  ground  tax,  in  other  words,  is  on  the
landlord.  He  has  no  means  of  shifting  it;  for,  if  the  tax  were
to  be  suddenly  abolished,  he  would  nevertheless  be  able  to
e xtort  the  same  rent,  since  the  ground  rent  is  fixed  solely  by
the  demand  of  the  occupiers.  The  tax  simply  diminishes  his
Profits.”—E.  R.  A.  Seligrnan,  “Incidence  of  Taxation,”  pp.
245.
“If  land  is  taxed  according  to  its  pure  rent,  virtually  all  writers
since  Ricardo  agree  that  the  tax  will  fall  wholly  on  the  landowner,
  and  that  it  cannot  be  shifted  to  any  other  class,  whether
tenant-farmer  or  consumer.  .  .  .  The  point  is  so
universally  accepted  as  to  require  no  further  discussion.  .  .  .
A  permanent  tax  on  rent  is  thus  not  shifted  to  the  consumer,  nor
does  it  rest  on  the  landowner  who  has  bought  since  the  tax
w as  imposed.”—E.  R.  A.  Seltgman,  “Incidence  of  Taxation,”
PP-  222,  223.
“With  these  assumptions,  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  tax  on
economic  rent  cannot  be  transferred  to  the  consumer  of  the
Produce,  owing  to  the  competition  of  the  marginal  land  that
Pays  no  rent,  and  therefore  no  tax,  nor  to  the  farmer,  since
competition  leaves  him  only  ordinary  profits.
The  amount  of  each  particular  rental  depends  upon  units
°f  surplus  produced  (varying  to  any  extent  according  to  the
superior  natural  conditions),  and  on  the  marginal  price,  which
■s  independent  of  these  superior  conditions,  and  accordingly,
a  tax  that  strikes  the  surplus  only,  remains  where  it  first  falls.”
Nicholson,  “Principles  of  Political  Economy,”  Book  V.,
Chapter  XL,  Sections  I  and  4.