STATE AND LOCAL TAX REVENUES 109 
four cities is also shown in this table. For the fiscal year 
ended in 1928 the general property tax accounted for 89.0% 
of the total tax receipts of the four cities, as compared with 
91.8% in 1923 and 82.29% in 1913. The smaller proportion 
in 1913, as well as in 1918, was due to receipts from liquor 
licenses, which in Table 33 are classified as business licenses. 
Because of the adoption of the national prohibition amend- 
ment, the receipts from business licenses were lower in 1923 
than in 1918. In later years they have increased, but 
relatively they have not attained so important a place in 
the revenue system of the cities as they held before the 
eighteenth amendment became effective. 
Of the cities for which data are presented in Table 33 only 
Springfield collects a poll tax. This source accounts for only 
about 19 of the tax revenues of that city. Non-business 
licenses in recent years have accounted for only about 29%, 
of the tax revenues of the four cities. 
Although special assessments are not regarded as taxes in 
economics or in law, they deserve mention in connection 
with the other data for the four cities. In theory, a special 
assessment represents a charge made against property be- 
cause certain improvements made or to be made tend to 
increase the value of the property proportionately. This 
form of contribution is particularly important in financing 
certain types of municipal improvements. Collections on 
account of special assessments are ordinarily irregular in 
amount. For example, in 1928 the four cities collected from 
this source about $6.2 million and in 1927 more than $6.8 
million, but in 1926 the total was only slightly in excess of 
$4.7 million. 
As a basis for interpretation, ratios of special assessments 
collected to general property taxes and to total taxes were 
computed. These ratios comprise the lower half of Table 
34. The ratios were found to be much higher for the year 
1913 than for any other year, indicating a relative decline 
of this source of urban revenue. In 1928 special assessments 
collected in the four cities were equivalent to only 129, of 
general property taxes and 10.7% of total taxes from all 
sources. Since 1923 Kansas City has made less use of special 
assessments than St. Louis. On the other hand, St. Joseph