The Frankfurter Zeitung, Germany’s most nearly independent newspaper, voiced concern today over the wide powers given tax collectors under the new currency laws, which provide the death penalty for fraudulent transfer of property abroad.
Referring to a provision of the laws which gives the Exchange Control Service the right to seize and administer the fortune and property of any citizens suspected of intending to go abroad permanently without paying the flight or other taxes required, the paper declares:
“This is an extraordinary regulation if it means that whoever is put under suspicion has his property actually placed under the guardianship of the currency authorities.”
Jewish circles voiced the fear that the currency authorities would use their new powers to seize the property of wealthier Jews on the pretext that they were suspected of planning to emigrate without paying the flight tax.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
