XVll 
the other states of the German Empire have adopted, in this connexion, very 
much the same system as Prussia, it will suffice to indicate in detail only the 
methods adopted in that country. There the principal sources of municipal 
revenue—other than the proceeds of municipal enterprise—are the income tax, 
the land and building tax, the trade or occupation tax (Gewerbesteuer), and 
the tax levied on the sale of real estate ; the first three of these are general, and 
the last is rapidly coming into favour. Other taxes of secondary importance 
are levied upon dogs, upon entertainments, and upon beer in the form of a con 
sumption tax ; but these are not universal. Several towns have of recent years 
adopted an “ increased value ” or " unearned increment ” tax. But the income 
tax remains the most important source of revenue, and it is the only direct tax 
which falls everywhere upon the working classes, since it is payable by all citizecs 
in receipt of more than a specified income, whether they are householders or not. 
The municipal income tax is a percentage of the State Income Tax, varying 
from town to town and from year to year according to local needs, and is based 
on the assessment made for the state. The State Income Tax, as fixed by a law 
of the year 1891, falls on all incomes, whatever their source, exceeding 
900 marks, or £45 a year, and is levied according to a sliding scale of which 
the first ten stages are shown in the following Table :— 
Annual Income. 
Over £45 
„ £52 10s. 
» £60 
„ £67 10s. 
,, £75 
„ £82 10s. 
» £90 
„ £105 
,, £120 
„ £135 
to £52 10s. inclusive 
„ £60 
„ £67 10s. „ 
„ £75 
,, £82 
„ £90 
„ £105 
„ £120 
„ £135 
„ £150 
Annual State 
Income Tax. 
£ s. 
0 6 
0 9 
0 12 
0 16 
1 
6 
11 
16 
2 
12 
The tax is thus progressive, amounting to 0 66 per cent, on the lowest 
incomes and rising gradually to T7 per cent, on £150. It then rises gradually 
to 3 per cent, on incomes of £500, and to a maximum of 4 per cent, on incomes 
of over £5,000. 
Assessment is by “ households,” that is, the incomes of husband, wife, 
children and other dependents are added together and taxed on the total ; but 
the incomes of wives living permanently apart from their husbands are assessed 
separately, as are also such incomes of children and other members of the 
household as are not at the disposal of the head of the household. Certain 
deductions are made before the taxable income is arrived at, chiefly of contribu 
tions to sickness, accident and old age insurance, and to widows’, orphans’ and 
pension funds, and life insurance premiums up to £30. Further, in the case of 
incomes not exceeding £.150, £2 10s. is exempted from taxation for every 
member of the family under 14 years of age not assessed independently, and 
where there are three or more such persons in a household there* must be a 
reduction by at least one group in the schedule of income groups. In the case 
of income not exceeding £475, extraordinary obligations in regard to the 
support and education of children and relatives, chronic sickness, debt or other 
misfortunes may justify a reduction by at most three groups. 
The percentage addition to the State Income Tax levied by the local authori 
ties in Prussia varies considerably. In Berlin it has been for some years 100 per 
cent., but elsewhere it is generally much higher ; at the date of the Board of 
Trade Enquiry it was 135 per cent, at Aachen and 136 per cent, at Breslau, whilst 
in Bochum it was 160 per cent., in Barmen, Elberfeld, Essen, Dortmund and 
Königsberg 200 per cent., in Solingen 215 per cent., and in Remscheid 
230 per cent. Taking 150 per cent, as a normal amount, a workman whose net 
income (i.e., after the above-specified deductions had been made), either alone 
or with his family, was 30s. a week would pay (as having an income of between 
£75 and £82 10s.) a total income tax of £2 12s. 6c?., viz., £l Is. to the State, 
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