Tax stamp "Notopfer Berlin"

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Three emergency sacrifice stamps

Notopfer Berlin was an additional tax on income and a tax stamp that had to be used in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany by the sender of a mail item in the period from December 1, 1948 to March 31, 1956, in addition to normal postage with a few exceptions.

The tax stamp over 2 Pfennig was sold by the Post and later by the Deutsche Bundespost . The tax was based initially on the Bizonal Economic Council adopted legislation to levy a tax "Notopfer Berlin" in the united economic area of 8 November 1948 which was later revised several times. It was replaced by the Berlin Aid Act.

background

During the Berlin blockade and the airlift (June 26, 1948 to May 11, 1949), the Economic Council for the bizone passed the "Law to levy a" Notopfer Berlin "tax in the United Economic Area" on November 8, 1948. After that - in addition to additional taxes of the conventional kind - on most domestic German mail (except from and to West Berlin and also not to the Soviet occupation zone or later to the German Democratic Republic ) in addition to normal postage (at that time 20 pfennigs for a standard letter and 10 Pfennig for a postcard) a tax stamp, the so-called “emergency sacrifice”, can be stuck. These two pfennigs were intended to benefit the West Berliners who had got into economic hardship as a result of the Berlin blockade.

Area of ​​use

The emergency stamp had to be used in the areas of the American and British zones (so-called bizones ) since December 1, 1948, while different rules of use applied in different parts of the French zone :

The collection periods for deliveries on mail, which were initially limited to December 1948 to February 1949, have been repeatedly extended. The law of December 29, 1949 extended the levying of the tax to the entire federal territory and was valid from January 1, 1950 in the entire Federal Republic of Germany . Further changes resulted from the law of March 28, 1953 until the end of December 1954.

Additional postmark: "No tax stamp!" The 8 Pfennig local postcard was upgraded to a long-distance postcard by 2 Pfennig, see neighboring local traffic .

The chargeable shipments were to be provided with a tax stamp of 2 pfennigs. The levy was a tax within the meaning of the Reich Tax Code . The obligation to pay could not be fulfilled by sticking postage stamps on the consignment subject to tax (see illustration with the missing tax stamp). Items subject to tax that were not provided with a tax stamp were not sent by the post office. A refund of the tax on postal items was excluded.

In the case of items franked by sender or postage stamps, as well as parcels and parcels from self-bookers who took part in the collection procedure, the delivery could also be paid in cash at the post office or, by arrangement, by post or bank check or by debiting the postal check account. In this case, the duty-free items were to be delivered separately from those subject to duty.

After the announcement of the new version of the law to levy a "Notopfer Berlin" tax of March 10, 1952, the tax was levied on the following mail items in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany:

  1. Letters
  2. Postcards
  3. Business papers
  4. Samples
  5. Mixed shipments
  6. parcel
  7. Parcels ( mail )
  8. Station letters
  9. Station newspapers
From the end of January 1949, if it was discovered on consignments in the Soviet occupation zone or the GDR, a complaint was made (see Postwar ). Here the stamp: "Trademark not allowed - back" was used.

The following were exempt from the levy:

Appearance

The tax stamps were issued in the size 12.75 mm × 21.48 mm (half size I of the postage stamps of 21.48 mm × 25.5 mm). The tokens were manufactured at the request of the United Economic Area Finance Administration through the agency of the United Economic Area Central Postal and Telecommunications Administration and distributed through the postal services. On a dark blue background, they show the information on victims of emergency , including 2 Berlin in negative antiqua script . The word tax stamp is printed in blue antiqua on a lower white strip . The stamp sheets to 200 pieces were initially not perforated because of the urgency, so that these brands be cut with scissors from the bow had to later perforated (from early 1950) ( postage stamp separation ) delivered. It is estimated that 20.7 billion copies were printed in the eight years.

Sales

The Notopfer Berlin tax stamp was sold by the Deutsche Bundespost , which received 2.25% of the proceeds as compensation for its service. After the remuneration was withheld, the proceeds were transferred to the Federal Ministry of Finance . The turnover in millions of DM was :

year Sales in million DM Today's value in million euros Catchment area with period
1948 20.6 53.3 Bizone, from December 1, 1948
1949 49.0 128.7
  • Bizone
  • Rhineland-Palatinate (February 1 to March 31, 1949 and from July 1, 1949 to the end)
  • Baden (July 1st and 2nd, 1949 and then from July 17th, 1949 until the end)
  • Württemberg-Hohenzollern (January 10, 1949 to the end of May 1949. From July 1 to December 31, 1949, the so-called housing tax stamp had to be used due to the Württemberg law of June 24, 1949. The sale ended on December 29, since then the normal emergency sacrifice stamp was valid again for Berlin.)
1950 50.5 141.9 Complete federal territory from January 1, 1950
1951 52.4 136.8 entire federal territory
1952 ? entire federal territory
1953 ? entire federal territory
1954 ? entire federal territory
1955 ? entire federal territory
1956 ? Complete federal territory until discontinuation March 31, 1956
Total revenues 413.8 1,028.6 A total of DM 413.8 million was achieved.

Valuation in philately

Stamp collectors differentiate between the different versions of the stamps, which differ in their watermarks , perforations and small differences in typography .

The Michel catalog differentiates the emergency sacrifice stamps into eight main numbers (Michel numbers). The stamp was made with seven different watermarks and several different perforations and colors (from blue to black-blue). Furthermore, the letters "R" (flat or steep smear) and "N" (pointed or blunt N) were printed in several variants. According to the Michel catalog, the collector's value of this stamp is between a few cents and several thousand euros, depending on the printing variant.

literature

  • Federal Ministry for Post and Telecommunications (Ed.)
    • Handheld dictionary of postal services .
      • 2nd completely reworked edition. Frankfurt am Main 1953, p. 283 (foreign stamps: e) tax stamps "Notopfer Berlin") and 456.
      • 1st supplement to the 2nd edition. 1956, pp. 51 and 79.
      • 3rd completely revised edition. 1. Volume A-F. Berlin 1971, p. 731 (foreign stamps: 6th tax stamps "Notopfer Berlin").
  • Michel catalog ; Schwaneberger, Munich:
  • Friedrich Harlos / Peter Harlos: The emergency victims and housing brands 1948–1956 , 2nd edition from 1996
  • U. Karrasch: 50 years of emergency sacrifice Berlin. (Continuation article) In: philately from No. 264, October 1998, page 37
  • German postage stamp newspaper
    • Issue No. 24/2008, p. 82 f
    • Issue No. 25/2013, pp. 20–24.
  • expertise Publisher: Deutsche Post AG, issue 2/2011, pp. 4–7.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Official Journal Order No. 142/1956
  2. ↑ Law Gazette of the Administration of the United Economic Area (WiGBl.) P. 118.
  3. ↑ See § 2 No. 1 and 2 of the Act
  4. ↑ Michel-Briefe-Katalog Deutschland 2005/06; P. 894.
  5. ↑ Michel-Briefe-Katalog Deutschland 2005/06; P. 891.
  6. ↑ Michel-Briefe-Katalog Deutschland 2005/06; P. 898.
  7. ↑ BGBl. 1949 p. 35 .
  8. ↑ Federal Law Gazette I p. 88 .
  9. ↑ Implementation Regulations for the Implementation of the Act of November 8, 1948, WiGBl. P. 121 ff. And of August 16, 1951 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 784. ).
  10. ↑ BGBl. 1952 I p. 129 .
  11. ↑ Concise dictionary of the postal system; 2nd Edition; P. 456.
  12. ↑ March 31, 1956 - end of the emergency stamps Berlin: solos for the front city , WDR : deadline of March 31, 2011
  13. ↑ a b Concise dictionary of the postal system; 3. Edition; P. 731.