The flight-tax regulation was introduced in late 1931 - before the Nazi accession - to stop the flow of capital out of Germany during the economic crisis. Owners of property and/or with income in excess of a certain sum were taxed 25 percent of net worth upon emigration from Germany. The Nazis used the tax to claim property of Jews who sought to emigrate. In 1934, the threshold of the flight tax was lowered to 50,000 marks. Prospective Jewish emigrants usually sold their property for less than its true value but had to pay the tax at full value, as stipulated in their tax assessments. Jews also had to deposit what remained of their assets in closed accounts. Withdrawals from such accounts were restricted and even then were only permitted at a special exchange rate much lower than the standard prevailing rate. The exchange rate of the blocked Reichsmark slipped from 38 percent of the standard prevailing rate in 1935 to 10 percent in 1938.
