A major revision of the laws applying an education head tax to Soviet citizens seeking to leave the Soviet Union is now in preparation, according to Dr. David Korn, chairman of the Soviet Jewry Committee of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington. He told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that the revisions include a lowering of the head tax and an easing of the conditions of payment.
According to Dr. Korn the sum that will be levied under the revised law on persons holding academic degrees will be calculated on the basis of how long that person has worked in his field in the Soviet Union. A recent graduate would have to pay the full fee, but the fee would become progressively lower for persons who have been employed for a number of years.
Under the present law, the amount of the tax depends on the level of the academic degree held by the applicant for an exit visa. The revision apparently takes into consideration that the applicant has compensated the State for part of his education by working in his field.
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.
