The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-12-10
WHAT IT COSTS TO
LIVE In GAY PARIS
II Is Nearly Ninety.two Dollars for Each
lnhabitant.
COMPARED WITH NEW YORK CITY
For Municipal and Departmental
Uses the Per Capita Is Over s27,
with One-tourth OF the Government
Budget to Pav--Everythiug Is
Taxed. and It Costs to Die.

with One-tourth OF the Government
Budget to Pnv--Everythiug Is
Taxed, and It Costs to Die.
The Paris correspondent Of the New
York sun takes vigorous exception to
the statement that Gotham is the most
taxed city i'm the world. The figures
given herewith are cited by him to
prove that Paris deserves this distinc-
ton
The population of New York in 1897,
according to the figures of the board
Of health. is 100000. The population
of Paris, by police census, 2,592,O00
The total amount appropriated for
the expenses of the city government
in New York 1897, was 1856. 900. The
amount for Paris was S6S 100000
The cost of the city government in
New York per capita, was $22 90 The
cost i'm Paris, per Capita. was $2655.
The net funded debt Of the city of
New York, 1897, is 1929, ,O9i 900; per cap
ita, $Gi.S7 The debt of Paris is $53l,
100000; per capita, S2O5.O5. The inter
est charge on this debt is $5,65i, 600
annually in New York, and so, ,34G, 600
III Paris.
OF the total tax levy i'm New York,
$l,339 600 was assessed for state taxes,
and was not spent by tn city govern
nGnt. In Paris, however. the depart
mental tax (Which may be assumed to
stand in the relation of state taxi
was an additional imposition. and
amounted to $56OO.O0O. This, added to
the municipal sum of SOS. $50 900. would
make $74,43OOOO. in comparison with
New Yorks Si5.6S5,OO0.
Besides having to pay this great tax,
which amounts TO over S27 for every
man, woman, and child, the proportion
of the government budget which the
city of Parfis pays is nearly one-quar-
ter of the whole sum. The figures for
the fiscal year 1897. partly estimated,
are $l69 10000 Add this to the muni-
cipal and departmental tax. and the
r. Csult shows that the per capita tax
on the inhabitants of Paris is not far
from S92. This, taking the average
size of families in all civilized coun-
tries but France, would mean that
the head of the house must deduct
from his yearly wages or salary about
$iO0 for the support of his government.
As it is, the sum is not half that; the
French family grows smaller and
smaller, to the naive wonder of the
government and in spite of it's almost
fearful prOtestations.
IN PRACTICE,
1t might be said that per capita fig
ures are misleading-that the rich sus-
tain propOrtiOnately more than their
burden of taxation, and that what falls
on the poor is indirect. But that is
not SO: in France it is the poor man
that pays the tax. Here are some illus
trations:
The barbarous but time-honored in
stitutiOns Of the octroi furnishes SAL
100000, almost half, Of the total munich
pal budget. The Octroi, it may not be
necessary to explain, is custom house
especially for the city of Paris. At
every city gate, at every river landing,
at everT railway station, its officers
stand ready To pounce upon what the
ordinances say is dutiable. Imports
from foreign countries pay two duties,
one al the frontier and one at the gates
Of Paris. But the great bulk of the
revenues is derived from country pro-
duce. wine and fuel. 1t strikes the poor
with exactly the same weight that it
strikes the rich. Almost every article
known to man, with the two notable
exceptions of milk and fruit, pay oc-
troi. The duties are not particularly
heavy, but they count in a poor mans
expenditures. Meats, for instance, are
taxed from l to cents a pound: eggs,
l cent a dozen; butter, 3 cents a pound;
cheese, cents a pound; fish, from to
4 cents a pound; salt, cent pound;
coal, from $l,20 to 81 60 a ton.
In real property i'm Paris. as else
where in France, the laws are all in
favor Of the landlord at the expense of
the tenant Rents are comparatively
cheap, but why? In the first place. a
landlord pays no tax on his property
unless it is rented. In the case Of
apartment houses, when an apartment
becomes vacant the landlord ceases to
pay taxes exactly in the proportion the
vacant apartment bears to the whole
house; i'm other words, if half his apart-
ments are unlet, he pays just half the
tax assessed on the house In the sec
ond place, outgoing tenants are obliged
to pay damage charges" to the land
lord, whether they have made any
damage or not: it is really a charge
for wear and tear" In the third
place, the tenant pays a tax on every
stick of furniture he owns, on every !
door and window i'm The apartment he
occupies, on every gallon of water that
he uses. If there is gas on the prem
ises he has to pay whether he uses ii
or not. He pays a heavy government
tax for the privilege of having it. an
other tax for the preservation of the
street mains; another tax graduated
upon the number of burners installed:
another tax for the keeping clean of
the pipes i'm the house; lastly a con-
siderable sum to the gas company for
the rent Of the meter The manufac-
ture of gas is heavily taxed in Paris,
and the result is $4,000, 600 a year for
the budget. The other taxes mem
toned are mostly national, and bring
in over a hundred millions. Roughly
speaking a rent of $3.50 a year in Paris
means about $3.50 when you have paid
all the consequent taxes and month
ly gas bill Of S. means really 81. The
price of gas Is 50 so a thousand feet.
The poor man and the rich man, of
course, pay each his proportion.
DIRECT TANES.
In the direct taxes there Is per
sonal or poll tax, which amounts to the
value of three days Of your labor, the
sum to be fixed by the assessors. II
ranges usually from 81 To $3. Among
the other taxes are those on your busi- |
ness. If you want 10 start a bakery |
you pay $40 for a license and per- |
centaga on your receipts thereafter; |
if you are barber you cannot open |
a shop without paying to the govern |
ment beforehand the sum Of IS and a |