“ESCAPE TAXES”

Opunake Times, 24 March 1939, Page 4

“ESCAPE TAXES”

ENRICH THE GERMANS

The German Government has announced it has Collected 41,680,445 dollars in “escape taxes” during the first half of tho current fiscal year, beginning on April 1, says a Berlin message to the New York Times.

This compares with only 32,541,200 dollars for the entire fiscal year of 1936-37 and less than 400,000 dollars in 1932, tho last year preceding Hitler’s regime.

Tho “escape tax” is imposed at the rate of 25 per cent on the possessions of persons leaving or suspected of tho intention ef leaving the Reich. According to official explanation, tho large increases iu revenues from this tax is duo to “increased emigration from Greater Germany, especially of Jews/’ which means primarily from Austria.

Tha total of “escape taxes” collected/ since Hitler came into power is 145,600,000 dollars. The total value of the property taxes, therefore, is nearly 600,000,000 dollars. Imposed by the then Chancellor Heinrich Bruening to prevent tho flight of capital during the financial crisis of the early 1930’5, this tax has been employed under Hitler almost exclusively agoinst Jews. In practice, it is imposed not only on actual Jewish emigrants, but on most Jews with liquid Capital in banks because possession of such capital is dleemed prima facie evidence of tho intention to emigrate, In the present circumstances this means tho tax is rapidly being imposed on all Jews, as they are being forced to liquidate their busincssses at any price and put their money iu banks, even though their right to dispose of such deposits is subject to severe restrictions.