Erzherzog Ferdinand von Österreich-Este - Reskript Maria Theresias - 1772

An informative document on Maria Theresa’s financial and administrative policy in the Austrian Lombardy, which treats a concrete dispute over the tax treatment of state pensioners and bears the autograph signature of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este with countersignature by Count Firmian. Ferdinand Karl Anton Joseph Johann Stanislaus of Austria (1754–1806), Archduke of Austria, founder of the Austria-Este line and Governor-General of the Austrian Lombardy. Imperial decree in Italian, issued in Vienna, 17 August 1772, executed in Milan, 19 September 1779. Double sheet on laid paper, both sides written, ca. 33 × 44 cm, watermark “Vander Ley” with a crowned coat of arms. With the handwritten signature “Ferdinando,” countersigned by Karl Joseph Graf von Firmian (1716–1782); additional contemporary editorial and registry notes. The document chronicles a notable administrative-law doubt within the Habsburg financial administration. The starting point was an tax relief for the servants of the Duchy of Milan decreed by Empress Maria Theresa: the previously collected flat deduction of five percent on the salaries of state employees should be abolished. However, it remained unclear whether this concession also included state pensioners in addition to active officials. The Milan financial administration had apparently interpreted the provision broadly and did not collect the five-percent levy on pensions either. The resulting doubt was referred through the Milan administration and Archduke Ferdinand to Vienna for a decision. Maria Theresa states in the present decree that the tax exemption should benefit exclusively the state officials in active service. Pensioners are explicitly not exempt from the levy; a five-percent deduction must continue to be taken from their annuities. Already, due to the erroneous interpretation, overpaid amounts should be recovered and returned to the royal treasury. Also noteworthy is the documented administrative path between Vienna and Milan: the imperial decision was prepared in Vienna, where the Chancellor of State Wenzel Anton Fürst von Kaunitz-Rietberg (1711–1794) presented the Emperor with the Milanese governor-general’s report. After Maria Theresa’s decision, the decree went to Milan, where Archduke Ferdinand, as governor-general, together with his influential minister Count Firmian, carried it out and forwarded it to the competent financial magistrate. The numerous contemporary marginal notes further illustrate the bureaucratic process. The document thus offers an unusually concrete glimpse into the reform policy, tax administration, and decision-making pathways of the Habsburg state under Maria Theresa and connects several central figures of Austrian politics and administration in the 18th century—Maria Theresa, Kaunitz, Archduke Ferdinand, and Firmian. Overall, an attractive and very well-preserved large-format administrative document from Maria Theresa’s reign, with the Archduke Ferdinand’s autograph signature, numerous contemporary editorial notes, and only minor age-related creasing and handling marks.

Stima:€250

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