54 
UrdaM—Historical Survey of Fee Systems. 
A. BENEFIT, OR SERVICE, AS A FACTOR IN PUBLIC PAYMENTS. 
“ In the first stages of development of the state,” says Vocke, 1 
” the possessors of power and the people stood opposed to each 
other, but were still held together by certain common interests. 
Agreements had therefore to be made from time to time, and 
whatever lay beyond the lines of common interest, had to be 
secured by certain counter-services.” Thus benefit came to be 
the controlling factor in the imposition of all charges. The 
state idea appears for the first time in the organized constitu¬ 
tional state. This recognized that the state does not exist for 
its own sake, but for that of the governed, and hence that all 
state services could not and should not be paid for by special 
contributions. This paved the way for general taxes. 
But long after the system of levying taxes according to 
” benefits received ” had been abandoned in practice, it was 
still clung to as a theory. And even to-day people can be 
found who assert that taxes are or should be levied according to 
the doctrine of equivalents. But theory has now progressed so 
far that it is really in advance of practice. 2 The old idea of 
service and counter-service has been replaced by the modern 
theory of “ equality of sacrifice ” and “ taxation according to 
ability to pay.” Benefit, however, is still an important factor 
in a large number of charges known by various names in dif¬ 
ferent countries. In the United States this element enters into 
two distinct classes of revenues, designated by the headings, 
special assessments and fees. 
In order to ascertain the scope and characteristics of these 
categories, we must compare them with other classes of reve¬ 
nue which they resemble, and with each other. 
B. FEES DISTINGUISHED FROM TAXES. 
Fees and taxes are alike in that they are both compulsory 
payments made to the state in order to enable it to carry on its 
functions. They are furthermore alike in that the amount of 
each is fixed by state authority. Both may be manifestations 
1 Die Abgaben, Auflagen , unddie Steuer, p. 365. 
2 Rosewater, Monograph on Special Assessments, Columbia College 
Studies, II, No. 3. 
