St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-24
THE GOVERNMENT HARD UP AND
TAXES ALMOST EVERYTHING
IN SIGHT.
HIGHER RATES THIS YEAR.
WINDOWS AND DOORS, SHOPS. b.
CYCLES, DOGS, CLUBS,
CARDS.
ALL MADE TO YIELD INCOME.
Matchmaking Government Mon
OpOly-Attempts to Evade the
Death Duties.

The French senate and the chamber
Of deputies are now engaged in the
delicate task of making up the
budget" for 1885, The financiers are
having hard time to make both ends
meet. 80
For long time France has been
running behind in her income and
ahead on her expenses. In order to
preserve the national credit, the
French statesmen have for many
years imposed on their countrymen
many varied and unique systems of
taxation; 1895 is to see these even more
whimsically modified.
1t is a case of every little helps"
1.-The death duties" tax will yield the
government this year 25,oOO,OOO francs,
the tax on servant girls and male help,
contributions sur les domestiques,
10000, 900 trans; that on horses and car
riages, 100000 francs; on foreign Sc
curities, 100000 francs; from the
francs, and from the tax on playing
cards, 100000 francs.
On matches France exacts a heavy
duty for each box. Within the past
three years match making has become
government monopoly and is man
aged like a trust, the country profit
ing handsomely.
On articles that would seem to
Americans as worthy of being as free
as air the state places duty, small
in itself, but which in the long run
brings in tidy little sums. Among
these are bicycles, dogs, billiard ia
bles, playing cards, horses, carriages,
social clubs and checks and notes.
To prevent people from trying to
| evade the death duties by transferring
| their property for a nominal sum when
! they are growing old a substantial tax
| on transfers, which amounts to per-
| centage Of the value, is insisted upon.
| Most curious Of all is the taxing of
doors and windows throughout the en-
tire country, in the villages as well as
! in the great cities, pro rata according
! to the number Of such openings build
! ing may happen to have. All trades
| men are licensed each being made to
! paw a certain small tax for their shops
| each year.
Since the people do not kick the
state is each year able to put on the
screws a little tighter. Take the case
of playing cards, for example, or, as
| the French call them "cartes jouer.
/ In 1875 the tax stood at Is centimes, or
about three cents a pack. That same
year it was raised to 80 centimes orc
cents. In 1881 the duty was doubled,
and now in the new budget the law is
| to be remodeled so that for piquet cards
it will be Is cents, and % cents for
whist packs. In the clubs double the
tariff will have to be paid. From cards
alone the additional revenue will be
about $3.50, 900.
Then again the taxes imposed vary
Articles are taxed impartially through
out the whole country, but at different
rates. In the tiny villages in the thinly
populated communities, in the small
towns. the duties are low in Paris they
rise to their maximum. In no other
corner of France is taxation so high
as in the gay city. Steadily downward
the scale drops, a hundred thousand
ten thousand, twenty-five thousand
ten thousand, until at last it stops
short at three thousand. Communitie:
below three thousand in population
whatever their size may be, are taxed