Robert Meyer · 1888
Robert Meyer’s review evaluates Gustav Freiberger’s 1887 handbook as a systematic treatment of Austrian direct taxation, distinguished by its practical command of legislation and administrative jurisprudence. Its central judgment is strongly favorable: Freiberger advances beyond the recent accumulation of tax materials by organizing them into a coherent exposition. Meyer assesses its theoretical framework and comparative and historical coverage before turning to administrative procedure, legal precision, and usability.
For Meyer, practical expertise benefits from a grounding in fiscal theory:
Der Verf. hat auf dem Gebiete der Finanzwissenschaft genügende Studien gemacht, um das österreichische directe Steuersystem mit den allgemeinen theoretischen Gesichtspunkten in gehörigen Zusammenhang zu bringen.
English translation: The author has pursued sufficient studies in the field of public finance to bring the Austrian system of direct taxation into proper connection with the general theoretical points of view.
Although the handbook primarily describes rather than criticizes the tax system, its general and sectional introductions demonstrate an ability to judge existing arrangements. Meyer finds these brief theoretical discussions broadly consistent with prevailing doctrine, with some perceptive observations and occasional misunderstandings. His footnote identifies the relationship between the Zinssteuer and income tax as one such difficulty. He also praises the inclusion of foreign legislation while wishing for fuller accounts of Austrian legislative development, except in the treatment of land tax. The chapter on administrative tax procedure earns approval, qualified by the observation that it relies on Bernatzik more extensively than its notes acknowledge.
The review’s decisive conceptual distinction is between an author’s interpretation and authoritative legal material. Freiberger closely retains the wording of legal sources and incorporates relevant passages from the reasoning of the Administrative Court:
Das Buch erhält dadurch für die Praxis den grossen Werth, dass es auch in diesen Theilen nicht blos Ansichten des Verf., sondern zum allergrössten Theile thatsächlich geltendes Recht darstellt.
English translation: The book thereby acquires great value for practice, in that even in these parts it presents not merely the author's opinions, but for the very greatest part the law actually in force.
Meyer thus locates the handbook’s practical authority in its integration of judicial decisions, not merely in the compiler’s expertise. Yet fidelity to official language has limits: Freiberger sometimes reproduces linguistic defects or plainly incorrect statutory and regulatory statements without explanation. Accurate transmission must still leave room for editorial judgment.
These reservations do not undermine Meyer’s praise for the thorough handling of court decisions and provincial variations. Invoking his own years of official work in direct taxation, he reports finding only isolated, minor omissions or inaccuracies. The review nevertheless closes with an unequivocal criticism of the book’s accessibility:
Als ein empfindlicher Fehler muss dagegen der Mangel eines alphabetischen Registers bezeichnet werden.
English translation: The lack of an alphabetical index, by contrast, must be described as a grievous defect.
Meyer’s appraisal makes systematic organization, legal authority, and practical retrievability complementary standards for a successful tax handbook. Its relevance lies in this account of how fiscal scholarship can serve administrative practice while remaining attentive to theory, attribution, and the limits of literal reproduction.
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