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

74 EXPENDITURES OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR

and (B) which comprised all the partnerships consisting of
family or other kindred members. The rate for the A division
was uniformly raised 80 per cent, but the B division being
more of the nature of an individual person, it was subdivided
into eight grades between less than 5,000 yen and more than
100,ooo yen, and the rates were increased in proportion to the
size of income, so that the total was an increase of from
IO to 330 per cent. The personal incomes were graded into
ten classes, and the rate was increased from 30 to 200 per cent.
The tax on the interest of bonds was exempted from increase
to further the cause of public loan for the war, since the
interests on war bonds constituted a greater part of the revenue from this source.
The mining tax was formerly of two kinds: the tax levied
on the value of the mineral obtained-the mining tax in the
strict sense-at the rate of I per cent; and the mine-lot tax,
imposed on mine lots under operation at the rate of 30 sen per
I,000 tsubo (I tsubo = about 6 square feet). Itwas thought that
to increase the former might hinder the development of the
mining industry, and consequently the latter only was raised,
and mine lots, which had hitherto been free, were newly
taxed. In the first increase 10 sen was further taxed on each
I,ooo tsubo; in the second increase another Io sen was added,
while the mine lots under prospecting, which had hitherto
been untaxed, on the ground of encouraging the mining industry, were now taxed 20 sen per I,ooo tsubo. The places where
alluvial gold was obtained had also been free of duty, but
they now came to be taxed at the rate of 30 sen per cho (2.45
acres) of river bed or I,ooo tsubo of other land. The prospecting right and alluvial gold fields were subject to speculation, and immunity from taxation afforded little help in the
development of mining. The new taxation, therefore, aimed
at preventing this as well as at obtaining increased revenue
for the Treasury. In the second increase of taxation a new
Mining Industry Law was enacted, by which the tax on mine
lots under operation was raised to 40 sen, or IO sen more than
before, while the mine lots under prospecting were newly