Leibzoll
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The Leibzoll (German: "body tax") was a special toll that Jews had to pay in most European states from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
Rate of the toll
The origin of the Leibzoll may be traced to the political position of the Jews in Germany, where they were considered crown property and, therefore, under the king's protection. In his capacity as
As the Jews in increasing numbers passed under territorial jurisdiction, the exemption from personal tax, which was granted them as long as they remained crown property, was no longer respected, for each territorial ruler considered himself entitled to levy taxes on all foreign Jewish subjects who passed through his territory. But these taxes continued as customs duties until, with the growing hostility of the free cities, and with the frequent expulsion from vast territories which became the rule in the fifteenth century, those rulers who had expelled the Jews from their domains determined on the adoption of a policy of keeping them away from their borders. International relations, however, would not permit of the disregard of a passport granted by a foreign ruler to one of his subjects, so when Jews visited a territory in which no Jew was permitted to settle they were subjected to the payment of a toll.
Development of Leibzoll
Owing to the weakness of the imperial power of the Holy Roman Empire, Jews expelled from a place could easily settle in the vicinity, and on the strength of their passports do business in the place from which they had been expelled. So the Jews expelled from
The wording of the laws sometimes also suggests an intention of humiliating the Jews. For example, an ordinance of
Exemptions
Certain exemptions from Leibzoll were granted. Under the Austrian law of 1244, corpses were exempt.
In December, 1787,
Notwithstanding the liberal spirit which these abolitions showed, the majority of the German states still clung to the tax. With the advent of the French, however, some of them were compelled to abolish the Leibzoll. Early in July, 1798, the French general Cacatte informed the members of the government at
Wolf Breidenbach
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Jews of Germany found a courageous champion in
Switzerland
In the area of today's Switzerland, as in the surrounding regions, Jews were subjected to the costly and humiliating practice of paying the body tax (Leibzoll), particularly between the 17th and 18th century. Furthermore, Jews paid higher taxes for their wares, often double the regular fee.[1][2]
Zürich was particularly strict, as shown by a ruling from 1675, which only allowed “Jew horses” to cross Zürich territory, while Jews should not set foot on land. For their horses to cross Zürich soil, Jews had to pay double the usual toll rate.[3]
The Jew toll in Schaffhausen was valued at 24 Kreuzer in 1676. For that sum, Jews were allowed to stay two days in the city and practice trade, as long as all trading was done in cash.[3]
Authorities often profited from the Leibzoll. In Basel, the money was collected by the Oberstknecht. The Jewish community of Basel had grown to over 700 families in the 18th century, and in 1723, the lump sum of the Leibzoll amounted to approximately 500 pounds.[3]
In 1797, under the ruling of Napoleon, the Helvetic Consulta abolished the Jew toll.[4][1]
In Schaffhausen, it took a further two years for these tolls to be abolished, and the local council decided to maintain the Leibzoll for non-French Jews. In 1804, in a similar vein, the Small Council of Fribourg made a ruling to levy higher bridge tolls for all Jews who were not French citizens.[3] From these examples, it is clear that although the Leibzoll was officially abolished in 1797, extra rates and tolls persisted in areas that were hostile to Jews. Swiss rules and policies restrictive to Jews remained in place well into the 19th century.[1]
Russia
Up to 1862, the Polish Jews visiting
Similar taxes elsewhere
- Other taxes mainly or exclusively targeting Jews:
See also
- Blood moneylaws
- Cantonist recruitment
- Caste system
- Court Jew
- Danegeld
- Devşirme system
- Dazdie
- Ghetto
- More Judaico
- Jizya tax
- Judenhut
- Judenrat
- Protection money
- Tallage
- Shtadlan
- Useful Jew
- Yellow badge
References
- ^ a b c Cranach et al. 2016: Cranach, Kaufmann, Knoch-Mund, Picard, Weingarten. "«Judentum», in: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz HLS online, 2016".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ISBN 9783856168476.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b c d Weldler-Steinberg, Augusta (1966). Geschichte der Juden in der Schweiz, Bd 1 (in German). Zurich: Schweizerischer Israelitischer Gemeindebund.
- ^ Kupfer, Weingarten (1999). Zwischen Ausgrenzung und Integration. Geschichte und Gegenwart der Jüdinnen und Juden in der Schweiz (in German). Zurich: Sabe.
- Geiger, Jüd. Zeit. vol. v., pp. 126–145, 335–347;
- Jewish Chronicle, 12 June 1903;
- Allg. Zeit. des Jud. 1890, No. 28;
- Grätz, Geschichte der Juden, passim;
- Pervy Polny Svod Zakonov, vol. x., No. 6703;
- Mysh, Rukovodstvo k Russkomu Zakonodatelstvu o Yevreyakh, p. 18, St. Petersburg, 1890.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
