3d. per cent., not upon the income, but the capital.
In the towns, it is not the palaces, but the houses of the middle
class that are the most heavily rated. Take the palace of a nobleman
in Bologna, and a small house belonging to a citizen, which adjoins
it. The palace is valued at the trifling sum of L1,100, on the ground
that the apartments inhabited by the owner are not included in the
income. The actual rent of which the owner is in the receipt for the
part left off is about L280 a year: his taxes are L18 a year. The
small house adjoining is valued at L200. The rent derived from it is
L10 a year, and the taxes paid on it are L3. 7s. 6d. Thus we find the
palace paying something like 5s. 6d. per cent. on its income, and the
small house L1 7s.
The Lombards justly excite our compassion. But the proprietors of the
province of Bologna are taxed to the annual amount of L1,400 more than
those of the province of Milan.
To this crushing taxation are added heavy duties on articles of
consumption. All the necessaries of life are liable to these taxes,
such as flour, vegetables, rice, bread, etc. They are heavier than in
almost any other European city. Meat is charged at the same rate as in
Paris. Hay, straw, and wood, at still higher rates.
The town dues of Lille amount to 10s. per head on the population;
those of Florence, about the same; and those of Lyons 12s. 6d. At
Bologna they are 14s. 2d. Observe, town dues alone.
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