The act increased taxes across the board, so that top earners were taxed at 63 percent on their net income - up from 25 percent when Herbert Hoover took office. The 1932 act also increased the tax on the net income of corporations from 12 percent to 13.75 percent. Additionally, under Hoover, the estate tax was doubled, corporate taxes were raised by almost 15 percent, and a 'check tax' took effect, placing a 2-cent tax on all bank checks. Economists William D. Lastrapes and George Selgin conclude that the check tax was 'an important contributing factor to that period's severe monetary contraction'. Though Hoover had originally tried to stop the bill, he chose to sign it into law as he feared that Congress would simply override a veto.