4 
except spirits and tobacco. But in 1889 a tax was imposed on coffee 
and sugar; in 1901 on tea, chocolate, cocoa and sweets; and finally, 
in 1912, a general tax was levied on almost all imports (the goods tax). 
Since then these duties have been constantly raised as a means of 
increasing the revenue of the country, and in 1924 an ad valorem duty 
(a kind of super-tax) was placed on certain goods on which a goods 
tax is payable. (For the Tariff Rate, see article on Trade under Duties). 
In 1928 the goods tax yielded 1651 thousand krénur; the ad valorem 
duty, 1667 thousand krénur; the customs duties on coffee and sugar, 
1219 thousand krénur; duties on spirits and wines, 441 thousand krén- 
ur; duties on all kinds of tobacco, 1084 thousand krénur; and those 
on tea, chocolate and sweets, 255 thousand krénur. 
The postal service has generally shown a considerable deficit, which 
is but natural, considering the size of the country, the small number 
of the population, and the difficulty of communication consequent on 
these two facts. Yet, in 1928 it showed a surplus of 83 thousand krén- 
ar (receipts 561 thousand, as against an expenditure of 478 thousand). 
Telegraphic communication between Iceland and foreign countries was 
established in 1906. At that time there were no telegraphs or tele- 
phones in the country, except the Reykjavik local exchange and a 10 
kilometre line, which had been constructed some time before. Since 
then telegraph and telephone lines have developed rapidly and are 
still doing so, and the service has, as a rule, shown a considerable 
yearly surplus, which in 1928 amounted to 167 thousand krénur (re- 
ceipts 1656 thousand, expenditure 1489 thousand). 
Of other kinds of revenue in 1928 those derived from the State 
Monopoly on wines and spirits are the most important, yielding 905 
thousand krénur. Revenue from the national estates returned 51 thou- 
sand krénur, while interest on loans and deposits amotinted to 33 
thousand. 
For the various items of expenditure, see table on page 40, to which 
the following remarks (for the year 1928) may be added: 
Under the first heading are included: the Civil List, with 60 thou- 
sand krénur; Althingi, with 227 thousand krénur; the central govern- 
ment, with 295 thousand krénur; foreign affairs, with 83 thousand 
krénur; the department of justice and police, 919 thousand krénur; 
various other administrative expenses, with 221 thousand krénur. 
The expenditure on public health is almost one million krénur, 
whereof the building of hospitals accounts for more than two-fifths. 
The expenditure on communications absorbs 3.8 million krénur, or