Financial years Revenue
kr.
Expenditure
kr.
1880—4885, on an av erage......................................
1885—1890, » » »
1890—1896, » » »
1895—1896 . . . .
1896—1897 .....................
1897—1898 .....................
44,865,845
46*539;337
56,539,039
71,932,506
69,047,140
80,065,304
43,402,789
44,190,225
57,835,616
69,162,731
76,729,918
78,531,426
Here, besides the regular revenue and expenditure are also
included such as are considered extraordinary. On the income side
are entered under this heading the receipts obtained by state loans,
which, during the financial years of 1880—1898, amounted to
kr. 61,228,678, as well as the contributions of the several districts to
the building of railways, which during the same period amounted
to kr. 5,009,126. Among extraordinary disbursements is included
in the first place expenditure for the building of railways, and the
laying of telegraph and telephone lines, as far as they are met by
sums obtained by means of public loans or district contributions; and
these expenses in the years 1880 to 1898 amounted to kr. 42,201,289.
There are furthermore sums voted since the year 1890 for extraordinary
measures relating to the defences of the country, in order
to place the latter on a footing compatible with modem requirements,
for which purpose there have been spent kr. 26,931,137 up to the
year 1898. These disbursements have partly been met by money
obtained by public loans, partly by a temporary increase of the income
tax and partly by other regular revenue. To this must be added
certain special disbursements, and finally the money employed to
acquire state assets. The latter, as a matter of fact, do not represent
a real expenditure for the Treasury, but a transfer-of state property.
By deducting all these amounts we obtain the ordinary revenue
and expenditure of the state, which were:
Financial years Revenue
kr.
Expenditure
kr.
1880—1885, on an average . . . . . . . .
1885—1890, » » ' » . . . . . . . . . .
1890—1895, » » » - ! ......................................
1895—1896 ..........................................
1896—r-1897 . . . . Ü .................
1897—1898 ......................... ....
40,484,157'
45,197,901
52,487,973
58,445,529
65,128,500
75,101,562
39,734,900
43,823,040
62,541,339
59,396,469
62,737,726
67,317,877
The ordinary public revenue can be divided, according to its
nature, into the following chief groups, which, during the financial
year 1897—1898, yielded the following amounts:
1. T a x e s .............................................................. kn 46,911,653
2. Receipts from c row n -la n d ............................. » 1,257,974
3. Receipts from the assets of the Treasury . » 3,322,600
4. Receipts from various special funds and contributions
for state purposes . . . . , . f f f f . 2,337,462
5. Receipts from means of communication . . S 17,011,443
6. Receipts obtained in the other branches of
state administration ..........................................» 3,576,231
7. Sundry and casual receipts..............................» 684,199
Total . . . kr. 75,101,562
I t will be seen, that the taxes still represent the chief source
of income to the Treasury. They amounted to rather more than
62 % of the aggregate gross income, and to about 87 °/o of the
revenue calculated at its net amount. Every individual of the
populations at the end of 1897 was charged with a tax of kr. 21.97;
kr. 5,285,938 of the aggregate amount of the tax were produced
by direct, and kr. 41,625,715 by indirect taxation.
Under the heading of the direct taxes are reckoned three,
namely: taxes on foreign commercial travellers, which in the year
1897—1898 yielded kr. 174,860, and the legacy duty, which is: a
charge of from 6 to 8 °/o on all inheritances falling to others than
the wife, descendants or parents of the deceased, and which, in
the same year, amounted, to kr. 709,940, and finally the ineome tax.
This tax was introduced in 1892, and was originally levied at the
rate of 22/s % on income from property, and 2 % on other income,
A certain progression has since been introduced in this taxation,
so that a tax of 2% is now paid on incomes of up to kr. 4,000,
3 % from kr. 4,000 up to kr. 7,000, 4 % from kr. 7,000 up to
kr. 10,000, and 5 % on incomes above kr. 10,000, and V* pro mille
on personal property. Incomes of less than kr. 1,000 are not
subject to taxation, and of incomes subject to taxation an amount
is exempted which, according to the number of persons that the
tax payer is obliged to support, varies between kr. 600 and kr. 1,800.
Nobody is compelled to give information about his own income or
property; the tax is assessed on the persons subject to taxation by