Two things in life are certain: death and taxes. So goes the saying. And yet despite that, the idea of the necessity of taxation is largely undisputed, “consent” to its use is, historically seen, new. How did it come about that tax evasion, first an act of protection against the abuse of government, is now frowned upon? Why is there such moral indignation, and why is tax avoidance such a big deal today when it was widespread centuries ago?

Think of the procedure of taxation and then imagine you’d have to explain it to a person who has never heard of it before. That is pretty much the history of taxation in a nutshell. Early taxes in Ancient Rome and Greece were not only very low and indirect (for instance, on goods), they were only levied when there was a time of crisis. European countries which were large traders, such as the Netherlands or England, gathered funds for the expenses of the state through tariffs. While these were protectionist and surely not good news for the farmers on each side, at least they did not claim ownership to a part of the people’s income, as they did in France.

Historically Speaking

The crown was confronted with such a large opposition to the tith, that King Henry suspended it and promised to never levy such a tax again.

During the Middle Ages, the King’s finances and those of private individuals were merged: there was no distinction between a public budget and private budget. Consecutive monarchs instituted taxes according to the expenses they deemed necessary at that moment in time. In addition to the royal expenditure which was merely in their own interest (construction of castles, financing of hunting, clothing, and gifts offered to the members of the court), there were exceptional expenses related to wars, for which sovereigns appealed to “feudal aids”.

The feudal lords took from their servants as much as needed to satisfy the military budget of the King. The expenses were rarely approved of, even when the endeavors of the King were successful. Little did the Duke of Bourgogne care for the crown’s success in a renewed sea battle against the English.