Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1944, Blaðsíða 290

256
LE NORD
tutes), restricted consumption of sugar and decreasing use of
motor vehicles. The decrease in yield, however, weighs little
as compared with the very high increase originating partly from
considerable increases of the taxes on tobacco and alcoholic
beverages (which must always be the victims), partly from a
number of impositions of taxes, which have increased the number
of dutiable articles considerably. However great ingenuity the
Ministers of Finance have shown in this respect (dry goods, leather
goods, watches, objects of gold and silver, etc., incandescent
lamps, wireless valves, paper and cardboard, perfumes and soda-
water), it would seem possible, if a transfer of part of the levying
of taxes from the direct taxation to the indirect one proves to
be popular, to point out new objects or there might be higher
rates on some of the old ones, which probably may very well
bear it (mainly coffee substitutes and fruit wines).
Considering the abundance of the yield of taxation during
these years, it would not for budgetary reasons seem necessary
to supply more money of the State, unless great unemployment
should arise after the war. So far the development has invol-
ved that the regular and somewhat alarming increase of the
social expenditure (which for several years has engrossed
about one third of the revenue) is coming to a standstill. It is
another matter that increases of taxation like those mentioned
above may contribute to drawing purchasing power from the mar-
ket and thus making it easier for the Government to control the
money lying idle, and thus the prices as well. The so-called “Com-
mittee of Professors” (consisting of a number of economists),
which since the beginning of 1943 has been occupied by the danger
of inflation inherent in the great outlay of 8 milliard Kr.
by the National Bank partly to the needs of the German army
of occupation, partly to Danish exporters (cf. the accounts of
the National Bank under the items Various Debtors and Clearing
Balance in Our Favour (Diverse Debitorer; Clearing-Tilgode-
havender)), accordingly in its Report on Measures against Infla-
tion published in March 1943 recommended materially higher
increases of taxation than those already brought about. Thus
the Committee amongst other things proposed to impose 10 per
cent. on all the amounts of the State income-tax, to levy an
extraordinary tax on real property to be paid to the State, to
introduce a “tax on travel”, which was to be paid by 25 per
cent. of the prices of railway tickets, and to demand a duty