To this end， it establishes two divisions of direct taxation： one， the real-estate tax， which has no bearing on the taxpayer without any property； and the other， the personal tax， which does affect him， but lightly： calculated on the rate of rent， it is insignificant on an attic， furnished lodging， hut or any other hovel belonging to a laborer or peasant； again， when very poor or indigent， if the octroi is burdensome， the exchequer sooner or later relieves them； add to this the poll-tax which takes from them1 franc and a half up to 4.50francs per annum， also a very small tax on doors and windows， say 60centimes per annum in the villages on a tenement with only one door and one window， and， in the towns， from 60 to 75 centimes per annum for one room above the second story with but one window.[31] In this way， the old tax which was crushing becomes light： instead of paying 18 or 20 livres for his taille， capitatim and the rest， the journeyman or the artisan with no property pays no more than 6 or 7 francs；[32]
instead of paying 53 livres for his vingtièmes for his poll， real and industrial tax， his capitatim and the rest， the small cultivator and owner pays no more than 21 francs. Through this reduction of their fiscal charges (corvée) and through the augmentation of their day wages， poor people， or those badly off， who depended on the hard and steady labor of their hands， the plowmen， masons， carpenters， weavers， blacksmiths， wheelwrights and porters， every hired man and artisan， in short， all the laborious and tough hands， again became almost free；these formerly owed， out of their 300 working days， from 20 to 59 to the exchequer； they now owe only from 6 to 19，[33] and thus gain from 14 to 40 free days during which， instead of working for the exchequer， they work for themselves. - The reader may estimate the value to a small household of such an alleviation of the burden of discomfort and care.
IV. Various Taxes.
Other direct taxes. - Tax on business licenses. - Tax on real-estate transactions. - The earnings of manual labor almost exempt from direct taxation. - Compensation on another side. - Indirect taxation. - In what respect the new machinery is superior to the old. - Summary effect of the new fiscal régime. - Increased receipts of the public treasury. - Lighter burdens of the taxpayer. - Change in the condition of the small taxpayer.
This infraction of the principle of distributive justice is in favor of the poor. Through the almost complete exemption of those who have no property the burden of direct taxation falls almost entirely on those who own property. If they are manufacturers， or in commerce， they support still another burden， that of the license tax， which is a supplementary impost proportioned to their probable gains.[34]
Finally， to all these annual and extra taxes， levied on the probable or certain income derived from invested or floating capital， the exchequer adds an eventual tax on capital itself， consisting of the mutation tax， assessed on property every time it changes hands through gift， inheritance or by contract， obtaining its title under free donation or by sale， and which tax， aggravated by the timbre，[35] is enormous[36] since， in most cases， it takes 5， 7， 9， and up to 10 1/2% on the capital transmitted， that is to say， in the case of real-estate， 2， 3 and even 4 years' income from it. Thus， in the first shearing of the sheep the exchequer cuts deep， as deep as possible；but it has sheared only the sheep whose fleece is more or less ample；its scissors have scarcely touched the others， much more numerous， whose wool， short， thin and scant， is maintained only by day-wages， the petty gains of manual labor. - Compensation is to come when the exchequer， resuming its scissors， shears the second time： it is the indirect tax which， although properly levied and properly collected， is， in its nature， more burdensome for the poor than for the rich and well-off.
Through this tax， and through to the previous action of customs-duties， tolls， octrois or monopolies， the State collects a certain percentage on the price of various kinds of merchandise sold. In this way it participates in trade and commerce and itself becomes a merchant. It knows， therefore， like all able merchants， that， to obtain large profits， it must sell large quantities， that it must have a very large body of customers， that the largest body is that which ensures to it and embraces all its subjects， in short， that its customers must consist not only of the rich， who number merely tens of thousands， not only the well-to-do， who number merely hundreds of thousands， but likewise the poor and the half-poor， who number millions and tens of millions. Hence， in the merchandise by the sale of which it is to profit， it takes care to include staple articles which everybody needs， for example， salt， sugar， tobacco and beverages in universal and popular use. This accomplished， let us follow out the consequences， and look in at the shops over the whole surface of the territory， in the towns or in the villages， where these articles are disposed of. Daily and all day long， consumers abound； their large coppers and small change constantly rattle on the counter； and out of every large copper and every small piece of silver the national treasury gets so many centimes： that is its share， and it is very sure of it， for it is already in hand， having received it in advance. At the end of the year， these countless centimes fill its cash-box with millions， as many and more millions than it gathers through direct taxation.
And this second crop causes less trouble than the first one for the taxpayer who is subject to it has less trouble and like-wise the State which collects it. - In the first place， the tax-payer suffers less.
