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

RESOURCES FOR DEFRAYING WAR EXPENSES

83

the net profit for the state. Salt was graded into five classes
by its quality and the place of production; and the official purchase price was subject to frequent fluctuations according to
the state of the economic world, but the highest stated prices
per kin were Class I, from 1.43 to I.8I yen; Class 2, from
1.30 to 1.68 yen; Class 3, from I.I8 to 1.56 yen; Class 4, from
I.07 to 1.45 yen; Class 5, from 0.97 to 1.35 yen. Therefore,
the selling prices, which were the sums of the above figures and
1.48 yen added to each of them, became almost double the
purchase prices. We have already stated the expenses entailed by the salt monopoly, so its receipt and net profits are
tabulated here as follows:
1905-1906 1906-1907
Yen Yen
Receipts from the salt monopoly....... 13,987,304 24,o67,344
Expenses.............................. 7,288,566 11,776,046
Net profits....................... 6,698,738 12,291,299
a These figures have been worked out by a method of counting similar to that for the profit from
the tobacco monopoly, and they do not agree with the previously given figures regarding the salt
monopoly expenses or with those showing the receipts to be given later.
At the inauguration of the salt monopoly, by virtue of the
Monopoly Law, the government commandeered the salt in
the hands of the manufacturers. But the salt held by the
sellers was taxed at the heavy prices. The price of tobacco
and salt rose in consequence of the monopoly enforced, and
the government fixed a special low price, besides the ordinary
selling price, and applied it to exports of the same commodities;
while the salt used in certain industries was sold at cost, thus
encouraging exports and giving protection to industries.
The indirect taxes levied as war taxes have been described
above. From these sources the government planned to
obtain, according to estimates, over 23,700,000 yen in the
fiscal year 1904-5 as the revenue of the first increase in taxation; over 57,I80,ooo yen in I905-6, consisting of more than
33,220,000 yen as the first revenue and more than 23,960,000
yen as the second revenue (not including the consumption