Expenditures of the Russo-Japanese war / by Gotaro Ogawa.

EFFECTS ON PUBLIC FINANCE

I49

munications, which reached 206.I and 200,3 respectively. In
other words, the advance in the yields from consumption
and communication traffic taxes was quite large, in spite of
the smaller rates of taxation, as compared with the taxes on
receipts.
As shown in the following table of comparisons of different
groups of taxes, the percentage for taxes on receipts reached
the highest point during the war and declined after the war.
This was due to the circumstance that during the war such
industries saw temporary prosperity as they were stimulated
by the war, while they returned to their former conditions
on the restoration of peace. On the contrary, the consumption and traffic taxes diminished in revenues during the war
and increased after the war. This result was caused, in the
case of the former, by the high prices, as well as the practice
of thrift, which were induced by the war-time increase of
taxation, etc., and which prevented the increase of the purchasing power of the people, while in the case of the latter
general transactions were restricted on account of the war.
PERCENTAGE OF INCREASE AND DECREASE OF CONSUMPTION AND TRAFFIC TAXES,
I903-1908
Kinds of taxes I903-4 I904-5 1905-6 I906-7 I907-8
Taxes on receipts............ 36. 37.2 38.7 36.7 34.6
Taxes on consumption........ 55.6 55.2 53.9 55.3 56.6
Taxes on traffic............. 8.3 7.6 7.4 8.0 8.8
Total................. 00. I00.0 I00.0 I00.0.

INFLATION OF THE NATIONAL DEBT
Public loans
The public loans raised to finance the war with Russia
reached the aggregate of 1,584,000,000 yen. Besides, there
was no small amount of floating debt, such as temporary
borrowings, Treasury bills, and war tickets, made or issued
from time to time to fill up temporary deficits in the expenses.