FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 445 
The registration tax on the transfer of real property is payable on 
all transfers made for a valuable consideration, since registration is 
compulsory. The base of the tax is the price at which the sale was 
effected, but if there is reason to think that this price is below the mar- 
ket value, the value at date of sale as determined by expert appraisal 
may be used instead of the sale price. The rate of this tax (1933) 1s 
12 percent (159, p. 92). 
Inheritance taxes are levied at rates which are progressive as 
regards the size of the estate and which vary according to categories 
of beneficiaries, special reductions being al.owed for children so as to 
favor arge families. The current (1933) rates are thus graduated 
from 1 percent to 56.4 percent. 
Gifts, if legally attested, are taxed at complicated rates, varying 
(1933) from 3 percent to 48 percent according to the amount and 
degree of relationship between the donor and recipient. In practice 
this tax is levied chiefly on marriage settlements and other contractual 
engagements. 
The taxes on transfers of other kinds are very numerous and com- 
plicated; as they have little bearing on the taxation of forests, explana- 
tion of their details will not be attempted. 
TURN-OVER Tax 
The turn-over tax (taxe speciale sur le chiffre d’affaires) is a tax on 
sales and brings in about one-fifth of the revenues of all nat onal 
taxes. It consists of three different levies as follows (243, pp. 346- 
347): (1) A 2-percent levy on gross receipts from all commercial 
sales and all imports. Of this levy 0.1 percent goes to the Depart- 
ments and communes, and 1.9 percent to the National Government. * 
(2) A 2-percent levy on gross commissions, interest, and other pro- 
ceeds from commercial services. The proceeds of this levy are dis- 
tributed as in the case of the levy on gross receipts from sales. (3) A 
special luxury tax, varying from 4 percent to 13 percent, on sales of 
certain products. 
The 2-percent tax on gross commercial receipts has thus nothing 
whatever to do with the profit or loss of the business, although deduc- 
tion of turn-over tax paid is allowed in calculating net income subject 
to the income tax. The tax is almost universal so far as commercial 
transactions are concerned; the only exemptions comprising necessary 
food products and certain other articles, such as coffee, tea, sugar, 
meat, coal, and fertilizers, which are already sufficiently burdened by 
special taxes. 
LOCAL TAXATION 
The governmental subdivisions which are empowered to levy taxes 
are the 90 Provinces or Departments (departements) and the 38,004 
communes (communes).*? In addition small levies are also made by 
various official or semiofficial bodies such as chamhers of commerce, 
hospitals, and other institutions to cover certain of their expenses 
which are considered to be for public purposes. 
The Department is essentially an administrative subdivision of 
the National Government. The commune is the principal unit of 
local government. The finances of both Departments and communes 
# The number of communes variesfrom time to time; that givenis reported for the year 1931, see (240). 
