The Brigham Young Center

Hon. W. H. Hooper, M. C.
Washington City

Dear Brother:-

The Collector of Internal Revenue has sent the Trustee in Trust a notice dated 7th inst: stating that his Income tax $59.338.51 must be paid on or before the 27th inst. This is the tax for 1868 I suppose altho the notice does not say so.

I wish to say to you a few words in relation thereto. Our tithing as a people is paid into our general fund for the building of the temple, tabernacle, support of the poor & other charitable purposes. --it does not belong to the Trustee in Trust individually at all: he controls these means only as our agent, and we who have contributed of our means for the erection of the Temple & Tabernacles own those buildings, but we act thro' our agent the T. in Trust. I rather guess I own a share in the new Tabernacle. Now I pay my individual income tax, and so do you and all of our people, and when we have done so, can we not appropriate as much of the remainder of our means as we please to the erection of houses of worship or for charitable purposes, without having collectively to be taxed again on the same money, thro' our agent the T. in Trust? But if any funds be invested by the T in T. by which profits arise, such profits would be liable to the income tax, of course, but mere payments into a fund are not profits or income. And the absurdity is none the less from the fact that the tax assessed for 1868 is more in amount than all the tithings given to the Church during the year, as it was a year of poor crops, Moreover when tithes are given into the Church Fund of such articles as pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, &c. upon what principle should a money income tax be paid thereon? If such free will offerings must be taxed, it will be necessary for Government to build store houses as they will have to receive such tax in kind -- there is no other way to pay such a tax, there is not money enough in the country to do it with. But it cannot be possible that the Commissioner would require tax on what we as a community put apart for our poor and the families of the elders who are in distant nations preaching the Gospel of the Son of God, nor on what we put apart for the building of the Temple & other houses for Divine worship, when the truth is fairly before him. Again -- it is said by Prest Young to the Elders living in the outskirts where the Indians frequent most "give liberally to the Indians both flour & meat and we will record it as tithes given to the Lord"-- but in this case does the T. T. receive anything? verily not -- just so with the poor and a thousand other things. The Trustee in Trust receives nothing, neither as salary or otherwise, he simply receives and disburses as an Agent and clearly has no income, neither is liable to income tax, except for a few hundred dollars of rents and interest -- which were duly returned to the Assessor, and were under the thousand dollars exempted by law -- (a copy of which return I enclose, & I took said return from the Profit & Loss Account of the Ledger in presence of the Asst. Assessor at the time whose attention I called to the items at the time, as they appeared in the Ledger. President Young is a little sick just now with the Mumps. He has said nothing to me about the Collector's notice, but I thought I would let you know that you may have the facts before you.

Wishing you much health and strength and abundant success in your labors I am truly your friend

T. W. Ellerbeck