Czechoslovak Government Collecting “emigration” Tax Imposed by Pro-nazi Regime

The Czechoslovak Finance Ministry continues to collect an “emigration” tax from the estate or property here of all persons who left the country during the German occupation, despite the fact that the law was passed by the puppet regime of the protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

The Jews have protested the collection of the tax, pointing out that it should have been abolished under a presidential decree rescinding all discriminatory laws passed by the pro-Nazi regime. On an appeal to the Supreme Court, however, the tax was upheld because it theoretically applied to both Jews and non-Jews. The Jews insist that they were the only large section of the population which was forced to “emigrate” to save their lives, and that therefore the tax is discriminatory.

Thus far, the tax collector has not demanded payment in cases where the “emigrant” returned to Czechoslovakia after the liberation. But in one instance, the government forced payment from the heirs of a dead soldier who left the country to join the Czech army-in-exile.

When a delegation from the recently-concluded European conference of the World Jewish Congress called on Premier Klement Gottwald the situation was pointed out to him. The Premier expressed surprise and promised to investigate.