书城公版The Origins of Contemporary France
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第1055章

[1] Laws of March 21, 1831, and July 18, 1837, June 22, 1833, and May 10, 1838. The municipal electors number about 2,250,000 and form the superior third of the adult masculine population; in the choice of its notables and semi-notables, the law takes into account not only wealth and direct taxation but likewise education and services rendered to the public. - The department electors number about 200,000, about as many as the political electors. The reporter observes that "an almost complete analogy exists between the choice of a deputy and the choice of a department councilor, and that it is natural to confide the election to the same electoral body otherwise divided, since the object is to afford representation to another order of interests."[2] Laws of July 3, 1848.

[3] Laws of Aug. 12, 1876, March 28, 1882, and April 5, 1884; law of Aug. 10, 1871.

[4] The prefect, who is directed and posted by the minister of the Interior in Paris.

[5] "The Revolution," vol. I., book VIII. (Laff. I. pp. 467-559.)[6] And in 1880 it certainly excluded the female side of human nature. (SR.)[7] It must have been evident that nature gives to each worker, hunter, farmer or fisherman in accordance with their competence and industry. (SR.)[8] Construction of roads, canals, sewers, highways etc and protection against calamities.

[9] Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, "Traité de la science des finances," 4th edition, I., p. 303: "The personal tax, levied only as principal, oscillates between the minimum of 1 fr. 50 and the maximum of 4 fr. 50per annum, according to the communes. - Ibid., 304: "In 1806 the personal tax produced in France about sixteen millions of francs, a little less than o fr. 50 per head of the inhabitants."[10] Ibid., I., 367 (on the tax on doors and windows). According to the population of the commune, this is from 0 fr. 30 to 1 fr. for each opening, from 0 fr. 45 to 1 fr. 50 for two openings, from 0 fr. 90 to 4 fr. 50 for three openings, from 1 fr. 60 to 6 fr. 40 for four openings, and from 2 fr. 50 to 8 fr. 50 for five openings. The first of these rates is applied to all communes of less than 5000 souls. We see that the poor man, especially the poor peasant, is considered; the tax on him is progressive in an inverse sense.

[11] De Foville, "La France Economique" (1887), p.59: "Our 14,500charity bureaux gave assistance in 1883 to 1,405,500 persons; . . . .

as, in reality, the population of the communes aided (by them) is only 22,000,000, the proportion of the registered poor amounts to over six per cent."[12] Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, " Essai sur la répartition des richesses,"p.174, et seq. - In 1851, the number of land-owners in France was estimated at 7,800,000. Out of these, three millions were relieved of the land tax, as indigent, and their quotas were considered as irrecoverable.

[13] Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, "Traité de la science des finances," p.721.

[14] De Foville, p.419. (In 1889.)

[15] Cf ante, on the characteristics of indirect taxation.

[16] Here it is the estimated rent, which stands to the real rent as four to five ; an estimated rent of 400 francs indicates a real rent of 500 francs.

[17] De Foville, p.57.

[18] Paul Leroy-Beaulieu," Essai sur la répartition de richesses," p.

174.

[19] Ibid., p.209: In 1878, in Paris, 74,000 houses with 1,022,539rentals, 337,587 being for trade and commerce, and 684,952 for dwelling purposes. Among the latter, 468,641 have a locative value inferior to 300 francs a year; 74,360 are between 500 and 750 francs ;21,147 are between 750 and 1000 francs. All these lodgings are more or less exempt from the personal tax: those between 1000 and 400francs pay it with a more or less great reduction: those under 400francs pay nothing. Above 1000 francs, we find 17,202 apartments from between 1000 and 1250 francs ; 6198 from between 1250 and 1500francs; 21,453 from 1500 to 3000 francs. These apartments are occupied by more or less well-to-do people. - 14,858 apartments above 3000 francs are occupied by the richer or the wealthy class. Among the latter 9985 are from 3000 to 6000; 3040 are from 6000 to 10,000;1443 are from 10,000 to 20,000; 421 are above 20,000 francs. These two latter categories are occupied by the really opulent class. -According to the latest statistics, instead of 684,952 dwelling rentals there are 806,187, of which 727,419 are wholly or partly free of the personal tax. ("Situation au 1ère Janvier, 1888," report by M.

Lamouroux, conseiller-municipal.)

[20] The following appropriations for 1889 are printed on my tax-bill:

"To the State, 51 %.; to the Department, 21 % ; to the commune, 25 %."On business permits: "To the State, 64 %.; to the Department, 12 %.;to the commune, 20 %. The surplus of taxes is appropriated to the benevolent fund and for remission of taxes."[21] Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, "Traité de la science des finances," I., pp.

367-368: "In communes under 5000 inhabitants the principal of the tax on doors and windows is, for houses with one opening, 0 fr. 30 per annum ; for those with four openings, 1 fr. 60." Now, "a house with five openings pays nearly nine times as much as a house with one opening." The small taxpayers are accordingly largely relieved at the expense of those who pay heavy and average taxes, the magnitude of this relief being appreciable by the following figures: In 1885, out of 8,975,166 houses, 248,352 had one opening, 1,827,104 two openings, 1,624,516 three openings, and 1,165,902 four openings. More than one-half of the houses, all of those belonging to the poor or straitened, are thus relieved, while the other half, since the tax is an impost, not a quota, but an apportionment, is overcharged as much.