The Reichsabgabe was a tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

 on the postal traffic, levied in the German Empire

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 during the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. It was introduced to finance the war expenses. The tax was announced in the ‘Tariff Law’ (Gebührengesetz) of 21 June 1916 and became effective with the new postal rates of 1 August 1916.

In practice the Reichsabgabe meant a raising of the postal rates, the revenues of which streamed into the treasury of the State instead of the treasury of the Deutsche Reichspost

Reichspost

- Imperial Reichspost :* The Imperial Reichspost was the name of the postal service of the Holy Roman Empire, founded by Franz von Taxis in 1495...

, the German postal service. The increase of the postal rates was confined to domestic letters and postcard

Postcard

A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....

s; international mail and printed matter

Printed matter

Printed matter is a term to describe printed material produced by printers or publishers, such as books, magazines, booklets, brochures and other publicity materials and in some cases, newspapers...

s were excepted.

On 1 October 1918 the Reichsabgabe was raised. Now the printed matter rate was not excepted.

The effects of the Reichsabgabe are illustrated in the following table:

Postal item	From 1906-07-01	From 1916-08-01	From 1918-10-01
local letter	5 Pfennig	7½ Pfennig	10 Pfennig
local postcard	5 Pfennig	7½ Pfennig	7½ Pfennig
inland letter up to 20 g.	10 Pfennig	15 Pfennig	15 Pfennig
inland postcard	5 Pfennig	7½ Pfennig	10 Pfennig
inland printed matter up to 50 g.	3 Pfennig	3 Pfennig	5 Pfennig
international letter up to 20 g.	20 Pfennig	20 Pfennig	20 Pfennig
international postcard	10 Pfennig	10 Pfennig	10 Pfennig

Apart from Germany the Reichsabgabe also applied to the parts of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 and the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 occupied by Germany and to the occupied Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

, but not to the occupied part of Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.

The Reichsabgabe was ended on 1 October 1919 in conformance to a law of 8 September 1919. However, the raisings of the postal rates were not reversed.