File No. 893.572/32.
The Secretary of State to the Chinese Minister.
Washington , May 15, 1914 .
Sir: In reply to your note of May 12, 1914, regarding the payment by foreign residents in China of the stamp tax imposed by Chinese law, I have the honor to inform you that on May 4, 1914, the Department, in response to an inquiry from the American Legation at Peking as to the attitude this Government would assume toward the collection of the stamp tax from American citizens, advised the Legation that it was disposed to consent in principle to the stamp tax, provided the other foreign Governments assented, and directed the Minister to endeavor to secure such a revision of the regulations as might seem advisable to make them more acceptable to American citizens in China and to stipulate, in notifying the Chinese Government of this Government’s assent, that the tax should not be increased beyond the rates fixed in the proposed tariff of stamp duties without the consent of this Government.
Accept [etc.]