FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES 467 
OTHER TAXES 
TURN-OVER TAX 
The turn-over or sales tax (Umsatzsteuer) is levied under the law 
of May 8, 1926 (254) and applies to the gross receipts irom the sale 
of goods or services. The rate in 1926 was 0.75 percent but in April 
1930, it was changed to from 0.85 percent for small enterprises to 1.35 
percent for enterprises with gross incomes of more than 1,000,000RM 
($238,000) (246, pp. 367-368). It 1s a very productive tax, as 
has been shown above. It yields more revenue than any other tax 
except the income tax and more than twice as much as the property 
tax. The tax is very inclusive and only certain specified types of 
transactions, most of which are taxed under some other law, areexempt. 
The burden of the turn-over tax on forest enterprises should not be 
heavy. In forest management the turn-over of capital is very slow 
-and therefore the ratio of the tax to net income is lower than in most 
enterprises. At the 1930 rate (0.85 percent for small enterprises) 
the tax would not represent more than 1 to 2 percent on net income for 
most forest enterprises, which is a small amount compared with the 
income tax. 
RENTENBANK INTEREST TAx 
A tax which was of considerable importance to forest owners be- 
tween 1924 and 1930 is the Rentenbank interest tax (Rentenbank- 
zinsen). ‘This tax was imposed by the law of August 30, 1924, the 
purpose of which was to redeem and put to an end the Rentenmark. 
It placed a mortgage (Grundschuld) for this purpose on all land. 
The mortgage amounted to 5 percent of the value. This value was 
determined by a valuation (Wehrbeitragswert) made for the whole 
country in 1913 in connection with the special armaments tax 
(Wehrbeitrag). The annual charge (Zinsen) on this mortgage is 
5 percent. For example,if a property were valued at 100,000RM 
($23,800), the mortgage would be 5,000RM ($1,190) and the Renten- 
bank interest tax would be 250RM ($59.50). This tax has not been 
paid since April 1930, having been temporarily suspended. 
INHERITANCE Tax 
The national inheritance and gift tax (Erbschaftsteuer) 1s a gradu- 
ated tax, the rate of which, based on the value of the entire property 
transferred, rises from 2 to 60 percent (1925-33). Five classes accord- 
ing to the personal relation of the beneficiary to the testator or donor 
and 22 classes according to the value of the estate are recognized. 
There are certain exempt minima. ‘The basis of valuation is the na- 
tional uniform value (EKinheitswert) of the assessment immediately 
preceding the time of tax liability. If this value has changed more 
than one-tenth or more than 20,000RM ($4,760) in the intervening 
time, a revaluation is made (252, pp. 820- 329). 
LAND-TRANSFER Tax 
The tax on the transfer of landed property (Grunderwerbsteuer) is 
levied at the time of the sale of property and is payable in equal parts 
by the purchaser and the seller. ‘The national tax rate is 3 percent 
of the market value of the property, and the States and communes 
