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much beyond what was necessary for the payment of the tax。 The

final payment; instead of falling upon the shopkeeper; would have

fallen upon the consumer; with a considerable overcharge to the

profit of the shopkeeper。 For these reasons the project of a tax

upon shops was laid aside; and in the room of it was substituted

the subsidy; 1759。

     What in France is called the personal taille is; perhaps;

the most important tax upon the profits of stock employed in

agriculture that is levied in any part of Europe。

     In the disorderly state of Europe during the prevalence of

the feudal government; the sovereign was obliged to content

himself with taxing those who were too weak to refuse to pay

taxes。 The great lords; though willing to assist him upon

particular emergencies; refused to subject themselves to any

constant tax; and he was not strong enough to force them。 The

occupiers of land all over Europe were; the greater part of them;

originally bondmen。 Through the greater part of Europe they were

gradually emancipated。 Some of them acquired the property of

landed estates which they held by some base or ignoble tenure;

sometimes under the king; and sometimes under some other great

lord; like the ancient copy…holders of England。 Others without

acquiring the property; obtained leases for terms of years of the

lands which they occupied under their lord; and thus became less

dependent upon him。 The great lords seem to have beheld the

degree of prosperity and independency which this inferior order

of men had thus come to enjoy with a malignant and contemptuous

indignation; and willingly consented that the sovereign should

tax them。 In some countries this tax was confined to the lands

which were held in property by an ignoble tenure; and; in this

case; the taille was said to be real。 The land…tax established by

the late King of Sardinia; and the taille in the provinces of

Languedoc; Provence; Dauphine; and Brittany; in the generality of

Montauban; and in the elections of Agen and Comdom; as well as in

some other districts of France; are taxes upon lands held in

property by an ignoble tenure。 In other countries the tax was

laid upon the supposed profits of all those who held in farm or

lease lands belonging to other people; whatever might be the

tenure by which the proprietor held them; and in this case the

taille was said to be personal。 In the greater part of those

provinces of France which are called the Countries of Elections

the taille is of this kind。 The real taille; as it is imposed

only upon a part of the lands of the country; is necessarily an

unequal; but it is not always an arbitrary tax; though it is so

upon some occasions。 The personal taille; as it is intended to be

proportioned to the profits of a certain class of people which

can only be guessed at; is necessarily both arbitrary and

unequal。

     In France the personal taille at present (1775) annually

imposed upon the twenty generalities called the Countries of

Elections amounts to 40;107;239 livres; 16 sous。 The proportion

in which this sum is assessed upon those different provinces

varies from year to year according to the reports which are made

to the king's council concerning the goodness or badness of the

crops; as well as other circumstances which may either increase

or diminish their respective abilities to pay。 Each generality it

divided into a certain number of elections; and the proportion in

which the sum imposed upon the whole generality is divided among

those different elections varies likewise from year to year

according to the reports made to the council concerning their

respective abilities。 It seems impossible that the council; with

the best intentions; can ever proportion with tolerable exactness

either of those two assessments to the real abilities of the

province or district upon which they are respectively laid。

Ignorance and misinformation must always; more or less; mislead

the most upright council。 The proportion which each parish ought

to support of what is assessed upon the whole election; and that

which each individual ought to support of what is assessed upon

his particular parish; are both in the same manner varied; from

year to year; according as circumstances are supposed to require。

These circumstances are judged of; in the one case; by the

officers of the election; in the other by those of the parish;

and both the one and the other are; more or less; under the

direction and influence of the intendant。 Not only ignorance and

misinformation; but friendship; party animosity; and private

resentment are said frequently to mislead such assessors。 No man

subject to such a tax; it is evident; can ever be certain; before

he is assessed; of what he is to pay。 He cannot even be certain

after he is assessed。 If any person has been taxed who ought to

have been exempted; or if any person has been taxed beyond his

proportion; though both must pay in the meantime; yet if they

complain; and make good their complaints; the whole parish is

reimposed next year in order to reimburse them。 If any of the

contributors become bankrupt or insolvent; the collector is

obliged to advance his tax; and the whole parish is reimposed

next year in order to reimburse the collector。 If the collector

himself should become bankrupt; the parish which elects him must

answer for his conduct to the receiver general of the election。

But; as it might be troublesome for the receiver to prosecute the

whole parish; he takes at his choice five or six of the richest

contributors and obliges them to make good what had been lost by

the insolvency of the collector。 The parish is afterwards

reimposed in order to reimburse those five or six。 Such

reimpositions are always over and above the taille of the

particular year in which they are laid on。

     When a tax is imposed upon the profits of stock in a

particular branch of trade; the traders are all careful to bring

no more goods to market than what they can sell at a price

sufficient to reimburse them for advancing the tax。 Some of them

withdraw a part of their stocks from the trade; and the market is

more sparingly supplied than before。 The price of the goods

rises; and the final payment of the tax falls upon the consumer。

But when a tax is imposed upon the profits of stock employed in

agriculture; it is not the interest of the farmers to withdraw

any part of their stock from that employment。 Each farmer

occupies a certain quantity of land; for which hi pays rent。 For

the proper cultivation of this land a certain quantity of stock

is necessary; and by withdrawing any part of this necessary

quantity; the farmer is not likely to be more able to pay either

the rent or the tax。 In order to pay the tax; it can never be his

interest to diminish the quantity of his produce; nor

consequently to supply the market more sparingly than before。 The

tax; therefore; will never enable him to raise the price of his

produce so as to reimburse himself by throwing the final payment

upon the consumer。 The farmer; however; must have his reasonable

profit as well as every other dealer; otherwise he must give up

the trade。 After the imposition of a tax of this kind; he can get

this reasonable profit only by paying less rent to the landlord。

The more he is obliged to pay in the way of tax the less he can

afford to pay in the way of rent。 A tax of this kind imposed

during the currency of a lease may; no doubt; distress or ruin

the farmer。 Upon the renewal of the lease it must always fall

upon the landlord。

     In the countries where the personal taille takes place; the

farmer is commonly assessed in proportion to the stock which he

appears to employ in cultivation。 He is; upon this account;

frequently afraid to have a good team of horses or oxen; but

endeavours to cultivate with the meanest and most wretched

instruments of husbandry that he can。 Such is his distrust in the

justice of his assessors that he counterfeits poverty; and wishes

to appear scarce able to pay anything for fear of being obliged

to pay too much。 By this miserable policy he does not; perhaps;

always consult his own interest in the most effectual manner; and

he probably loses more by the diminution of his produce than he

saves by that of his tax。 Though; in consequence of this wretched

cultivation; the market is; no doubt; somewhat worse supplied;

yet the small rise of price which may occasion; as it is not

likely even to indemnify the farmer for the diminution of his

produce; it is still less likely to enable him to pay more rent

to the landlord。 The public; the farmer; the landlord; all suffer

more or less by this degraded cultivation。 That the personal

taille tends; in many different ways; to discourage cultivation;

and consequently to dry up the principal source of the wealth of

every great country; I have already had occasion to observe in

the third book of this Inquiry。


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