Hermann von Schullern zu Schrattenhofen · 1900
Schullern’s German review presents Caronna’s study of Italian municipal taxation as a valuable contribution to fiscal analysis. Its opening establishes the favorable judgment that frames the subsequent account:
Nur mit wenigen Worten sei auf die vorliegende Schrift aufmerksam gemacht, die ein sehr wichtiges Thema in streng sachlicher und lehrreicher Weise behandelt.
English translation: Let attention be drawn in only a few words to the present work, which treats a very important subject in a strictly objective and instructive manner.
This praise concerns the study’s rigor and instructiveness, not the fiscal arrangements it describes. Schullern contrasts Italy’s accomplished financial scholarship with the persistent deficiencies of its tax system; municipal revenues likewise provide no grounds for claiming superiority over other Central European states.
The review traces Caronna’s movement from historical explanation through institutional principles to particular taxes. The historical discussion shows how Italy’s political past continues to shape its institutions. The treatment of reform then examines municipal responsibilities and the municipality’s relations with the state and intermediate administrative bodies. These relations supply the framework for determining the appropriate scope and form of local taxation. Comparative reform provides an important reference point:
Dabei spricht er mit der größten Anerkennung von der preußischen Reform.
English translation: In doing so he speaks with the greatest appreciation of the Prussian reform.
Schullern subsequently surveys the treatment of municipal taxes and fees, including taxation of movable and immovable property, livestock, income, and consumption. He highlights the discussion of municipal socialism, especially in England, and commends the treatment of levies for agricultural improvements. His account thus emphasizes the connection between local governmental functions and their financing.
The principal reservation concerns Caronna’s identification of Trient and Pergine as belonging to his own country. Schullern rejects this nationalist territorial claim as inappropriate to scholarly inquiry. The criticism qualifies, rather than reverses, his positive assessment: the review endorses historically informed and institutionally grounded fiscal comparison while demanding separation between scientific analysis and nationalist identification.
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