883.512/18
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Egypt (Howell)
Sir: The Department acknowledges the receipt of your despatch No. 470 of March 21, 1924, together with its enclosures,4 and of your despatch of April 1, 1924,5 with reference to the Gaffir Tax of February 16, 1924 and to the request on the part of the Egyptian Government that this Government consent to the collection of this tax from American nationals in Egypt.
If the other Powers enjoying capitulatory rights in Egypt consent to the collection of this tax from their nationals in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said, Ismalia and Suez, you may inform the Egyptian Government that this Government has no objection to the collection of the Gaffir Tax from its nationals resident in the cities above mentioned.
Until some system of collecting the Gaffir Tax outside of the cities above mentioned is devised so as thoroughly to safeguard the tax payers from unreasonable assessment, this Government cannot admit the application of the Gaffir Tax to American citizens resident outside of these cities.
The Department will be pleased to have you keep it informed of the progress made towards devising a method of collection of the Gaffir Tax, outside the cities referred to above, so as to avoid the present difficulties.
I am [etc.]