license-tax

Updated: May 16, 2025

And in its worst form, too; for it was not a tax upon what the miner had taken out, but upon what he was going to take out if he could find it. It was a license-tax license to work his claim and it had to be paid before he could begin digging. Consider the situation. No business is so uncertain as surface-mining. Your claim may be good, and it may be worthless.

Mark Twain - Following the Equator, Part 3