The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-10
CURIOUS LAWS
INGENUITY IN TAXATION IN F0R-
 EIGN COUNTRIES.
Frances Stamps-HOw Germany and Austria Raise Funds by En- forcing CleaIiness Among
 the People.

Though Great Britain is content with the revenue raised from income taxes, dog and game licenses, letters patent of budding baronets, armorial bearings,
 man servant and similar taxes, other countries have far more ingenious ways of raising the wind. says Pearson's
 Weekly.
 Take France, for instance. She suc- ceeds in raising $140.000,000 yearly out of stamp duties. When you visit gay Paris your hotel bills come to you with a stamp on 1t. Every check drawn bears an extra receipt stamp, across which you must sign your name. Theatre tickets must be stamped. Even
 posters on the boards are stamped, the
 value varying with the size of the bill.
 For municipal purposes its towns also adopt queer expedients. Every morseI of food drink and fuel must
 pay tax, while Paris puts on extra
 tax of 10 centimes Ga penny) on all
 spirits, besides mulcting landlords with 1-2 per cent and tenants with l per
 cent tax.
 Germany at one time sent out char
 women with instructions to inspect and
 thoroughly cleanse peoples houses. It was not done so much with the idea
 of cleanliness as with the view Of rais- ing money. And 1t was successful, too' TOT H6dTiy SOIVVVrVOV W thS SANSN W Nt-~
 national funds.
 On another occasion only a certain
 kind of tooth powder was allowed to
 be sold in the stores-that kind made In the Government factories. Rather than pay a stiff price people preferred not to use any dentrifice at all, and so
 the tav failed in it's purpose
 Austria Is another country that mas l succeeded in raising the wind by en" | e .Ia ftG nennle lJns der a penalty of $50 Austria demands | that every householder shall have his chimney swept by the Government | sweep at least once a month for rear | of fire. She found the measure most lucrative, as she charged tax Of 4o cents for every chimney cleansed. Holland has similarly levied several queer taxes. Besides imposing duty | of 2 pence on every person who entered A tavern before noon, she used to levy taxes on those who visited places or entertainment, on marriages, and on many other things.
 If a peDson were buried out of the district to which he belonged, his near est of kin had to pay twice the amount
 that would have had to be paid had the burial taken place in his own dis | trict. Even boots and shoes were not | exempt, regulated by the size of the | | CT the tax.
 To be exempt from military service | in Switzerland one must pay a tax or s25 a year, no matter whether one be I a cripple or an invalid And if the bill is neglected the Swiss is prohibited from entering any beer garden or public entertainment until the full sum Is paid Greece attempted to raise the wind by making every smoker take out a license, but as the smokers objected and made riots in the streets she com peIled her people to purchase the na- l tional emblem in the form of a small flying swallow. These she had manu- factured in bronze in large quantities charging a few pense for them, any person not having one in his or hel I possession being liable to a penalty. Not a few countries have lifted them selves out of financial difficulties by th'
 aid of postage stamjs. St. Helena nett
 a. pretty penny by the sale of surplus
 stamps; so, too, do the Canary Islands | Since 1892 the petty State of Para guay has issued over 130 differen stamps, thus raising considerable
 sum, while British Honduras Cong