V O L U M E 1 3 , D O C U M E N T 4 5 6 b 5
Vol. 13, 456a. From Eduard Einstein[1]
[Zurich, 28 March
1923][2]
[Not selected for translation.]
Vol. 13, 456b. From Hans Albert Einstein
[Zurich, 28 March
1923][1]
Dear Papa,
We have informed ourselves as much as possible about the tax question. What
is definite, according to Messrs. Grossmann and Zürcher, is that a gift tax does not
come into consideration because of the
contract.[2]
Regarding the regular taxes we went to the secretary of the tax authorities (Mr.
Zürcher sent us to see him), and he told us:
One must tax the money as capital, from the moment of taking possession of it,
and the interest as income (as with any assets); there aren’t any other taxes.
We are, I think, not going to declare absolutely everything here, but the situation
is such that one can deposit money here, all right.
If this business goes just as smoothly in Germany, we’re in the clear. Just one
more thing: we must at least disclose a larger proportion here, because the contract
is available to the authorities and we could then get into a very foolish situation. So
it makes no sense to put the deed titles anywhere else; we can instead just have them
here.
My friend and I went sailing a couple of times already. He has a dinghy like you
do;[3]
it’s just a little longer, narrower, has more sails, is more unsteady, and runs
like the devil. One can heel very well with it without danger until the mast is only
about 30° above the water; but you do have to watch out! When we meet again, I’ll
be a skilled sailor!
I can perhaps also sail on somewhat larger vessels there, once I’ve gotten ac-
quainted with the people here a bit.
We now have much more to do than during the 1st semester, because we’re doing
less drafting and more courses, but it’s going quite well. After the summer vacation
I have to take the first examination (intermed[iate] dip[loma]) and then I’ll be pretty
busy.[4]
For the present, many greetings from
Adn.