Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue

Více o knize

An engaging and enlightening account of taxation told through lively, dramatic, and sometimes ludicrous stories from around the world and across the ages. Governments have always struggled to tax effectively and fairly. At times, they fail grotesquely, as when the British ignited a rebellion in Sierra Leone in 1898 by imposing a tax on huts, leading to the destruction of those very huts. Other times, they succeed astonishingly, like in eighteenth-century Britain, where a cut in the tea tax significantly boosted revenue. Two leading authorities on taxation, Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod, provide a fascinating tour through various episodes in tax history, from Herodotus's plundering to an Incan tax payable in lice, the Boston Tea Party, and the Panama Papers scandals. Readers encounter a colorful cast of tax rascals and a few heroes. While some taxes, like the one on sinking ships, seem absurd, Keen and Slemrod reveal that past tax systems share similarities with modern ones. Georgian England's window tax was an ingenious way to assess wealth, while Tsar Peter the Great's beard tax aimed to induce nobility to shave, akin to today's carbon taxes targeting global warming. This book offers a surprising account of how history sheds light on the enduring challenges and principles of taxation, providing clues to contemporary tax issues.