History of The English Fiscal System - The Restoration and Beyond

The Restoration and Beyond

A complete reconstruction of the revenue system became necessary during the Restoration. The feudal tenures and dues, with the prerogative rights of purveyance and pre-emption, could not be restored and careful inquiry showed that whilst, before the Civil War, the king's annual revenue amounted to just under £900,000, the needs of the restored monarchy would now be about £1,200,000 per annum. The commons therefore set about raising such a sum, an hereditary excise on beer and ale being voted in as compensation for the loss of old, feudal dues, whilst temporary excises on spirits, vinegar, coffee, chocolate and tea were put in place.

All differences between old and new customs and subsidies had disappeared under the Commonwealth. The General or Great Statute (1660) provided a scale of duties, 5% on imports and exports, with special duties on wines and woollen cloths accompanied by a new book of rates. A house tax levied after the French pattern on each hearth, was introduced and established in 1662. Poll taxes were used as an extraordinary resource, as were the last subsidies, voted in in 1663, and then forever abandoned. Licences on retailers and fees on law proceedings were further aids to revenue, which, in the later years of Charles II, and in the short reign of his successor, was kept up to the level of increasing expenditure, but only with difficulty.

The Commonwealth assessments were revived on several occasions, indirect taxation being made more rigorous by the imposition of extra duties on brandy, tobacco and sugar as well as French linens and silks. One major development was the placing of customs (1670) and excise (1683) in the hands of special commissioners, as opposed to the former system of farming them out to private collectors. This more modern approach was further evidenced by the greater care taken with customs' administration. Amongst expert officials Dudley North, was the most distinguished commissioner of customs. In this period, too, the beginning of the public debt as in the appropriation of bankers' deposits may be found.

The Revolution of 1688 may be regarded in both constitutional and financial terms as the completion of the work of the Long Parliament. In the latter respect its chief effects were:

1. The transfer of the administration of finances from the king's nominees to officials under parliamentary control
2. The consequent application of revenue to the purposes designated by parliamentary appropriation
3. The rapid expansion of various forms of revenue, particularly indirect taxation
4. The rise and growth of the national debt, combined with the creation of an effective banking system. (The greater part of the 18th century was occupied with the working out of these results.)

The government of William III faced the expense of war whilst simultaneously needing to allay discontent at home. As a preliminary to settling the necessary revenue, a return was prepared, showing tax receipts of £1,100,000 and £1,800,000 during peace and wartime respectively. Parliament believed that £1,200,000 per annum would suffice for the kingdom's ordinary requirements but nevertheless introduced the Civil List, assigning £600,000 for certain fixed payments, leaving the remainder for other state needs. As 'hearth money' had proved extremely unpopular, it was abolished, despite its yield of £170,000. Additionally, further excise duties were voted in for the duration of William and Mary's lifetimes, plus further customs duties, albeit that the latter were for a limited term only. However, these revenues were still totally insufficient to meet the pressures of war and new taxes were therefore created, older forms being revived.

A series of poll and capitation taxes was imposed between 1689 and 1698 which were thereafter abandoned, being as unpopular as 'hearth money'. In 1688, monthly assessment were introduced, followed by income tax, followed by twelve-monthly assessments in 1690 and 1691. The way was thus prepared for the property tax of 1692, imposing a rate of 4s. in the pound on real estate, offices and personal property. However, the old difficulties of collection turned it mainly into a land tax, by which name it became generally known. The 4s. rate brought in £1,922,712, a return which declined in later years. To meet the shortfall, therefore, a fixed quota of nearly half a million (a 1s. rate) was adopted in 1697, the amount being apportioned in specified sums to towns and counties, its framework remaining substantially the same until 1798, the year of Pitt's redemption scheme. In 1696, houses were taxed at 2s. each, higher rates being applied to extra windows. Thus, the beginning of the window tax, licences on pedlars and a temporary tax on company stocks completed these imposts.

Following Holland's example, stamp duties were adopted in 1694, being extended in 1698 and large amounts were added to the excise. Breweries and distilleries were placed under charge and important commodities such as salt, coal, malt, leather and glass were included as taxable articles, the two latter being later removed. Similarly, customs rates were also increased. In 1698 the general 5% duty was raised to 10%. French goods became liable to surtaxes, first at 25%, then 50%, whilst goods from other countries were charged at a lesser amount. Moreover, spirits, wines, tea and coffee were taxed at special rates.

The expansion of the fiscal system may be best realised from the fact that, during the comparatively short reign of William III (1689–1702), the land tax produced £19,200,000, customs raising £13,296,000, and excise £13,650,000, or approximately £46 million when added together. In the last year of the reign, returns from these taxes were respectively – land tax (at 2s.), £990,000, customs £1,540,000, excise £986,000, or a total exceeding £3.5 million. The removal of regular export duty applied to domestic woollen manufactures and corn only, both cases additionally being due to special reasons of policy.

Quite as remarkable as the growth of revenue was the sudden appearance of public loans. In earlier periods, a ruler accumulated treasure (Henry VII left £1,800,000) or pledged jewels or customs revenue or, occasionally, his friends to repay his loans. Edward III's dealings with Florentine bankers are well known, but it was only after the Revolution that the two conditions essential for a permanent, public debt were realized:

1. The responsibility of the government to the people
2. An effective market for floating capital.

At the close of war in 1697, a debt of £21.5 million had been incurred, of which over £16 million was still owed at William III's death. Connected with the public debt at that time was the foundation of the Bank of England which increasingly became the agent for dealing with the state's revenue and expenditure, although the Exchequer continued to exist until 1834 as a real, albeit antiquated, institution.

Thus it is clear that, by the end of the 17th century, new influences dating from the Civil War brought into being all elements of the modern financial system. Expenditure, revenue, borrowing and loans essentially developed into their present-day form. Increases in amounts plus procedural refinements combined with improved views on public policy were the only changes that occurred thereafter.

Broadly speaking, the 18th and 19th centuries exhibit several distinct financial periods. During the 90 years from the death of William III (1702) to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War with France (1793), there were four wars covering nearly 35 years. The long, peaceful administration of Walpole can be contrasted with the shorter intervals of peace following each contest. From the beginning of the war with the French Republic to the Battle of Waterloo there was an almost unbroken twenty years of war. The following forty years' peace ended with the Crimean War (1854–56), whilst a further forty years' peace ended with the Second Boer War (1899–1902). During this time, the older form of mercantilism gave way to protectionism which, in turn, led to the gradual adoption of free trade. During each period of war, taxation (particularly indirect taxation) and debt increased. Financial reform was synonymous with peace and, among the great financial ministers, Walpole, the younger Pitt, Peel and Gladstone were conspicuous, while Huskisson's services in the kindred field of economic policy deserve special notice.

By taking the several great heads of revenue in order, it is comparatively easy to understand the nature of the progress made in subsequent years.

1. The land tax, established on a definite basis in 1692, was the great 18th century form of direct taxation. Varying in rate from 1s. (in 1731) to 4s. (in most war years), Pitt, in 1798, converted it into a redeemable charge on the lands of each parish, thus reducing it from £1,911,000 in 1798 to £730,000 in 1907-1908. Moreover, major increases in other heads impaired its fiscal value.
2. Excise duty grew rapidly in the 18th century. Most articles of common consumption were permanently taxed, although Adam Smith unreservedly condemned those on soap, salt, candles and leather. In 1739, excise duties brought in £3 million, a sum that subsequently rose to £10 million, continued expansion being due both to the wider area covered and the country's increasing consumption.
3. Customs were equally serviceable, increased duties being even more considerable. The general 10% rate of 1698 became 15% in 1704, a fourth 5% was imposed in 1748 and, in 1759, general duties were raised to 25%. Coincidentally, customs duties on special articles such as tea were also increased. Indeed, the American War of Independence produced a further 10% increase plus special extra duties on tobacco and sugar. Indeed, by 1784 customs revenue had risen to over £3 million.

However, two further matters must be taken into account:

1. The extreme rigour of duties and prohibitions aimed chiefly against French trade; and
2. The absence of care in estimating the point of maximum productiveness for each duty.

Swift's famous saying that, in the arithmetic of customs, two and two sometimes made only one, is well exemplified in England at this time. Smugglers were responsible for the loss of much of the country's foreign trade revenue despite the fact that efforts at reform were not altogether wanting. Walpole made several useful adjustments by abolishing general duties on exports plus several on imported raw materials such as silk, beaver, indigo and colonial timber. His most ambitious scheme for the warehousing of wine and tobacco in order to relieve exporters failed, however, because of the popular belief that it was the forerunner of a general excise. Nevertheless, his reduction of land tax together with his earlier funding plan deserve notice, as does his determination to preserve peace, which was also assisted by his fiscal reforms.

Pitt's administration from 1783 to 1792 marks another period of improvement. The consolidation of the customs laws (1787), the reduction of tea duty to nearly one-tenth of its former amount, the conclusion of a liberal commercial treaty with France and the attempted trade arrangement with Ireland tend to show that Pitt would have anticipated many of the free trade measures of later years had it been his lot to enjoy ten more years of peaceful administration.

One financial problem which excited interest and even alarm, however, was the rapidly increasing public debt. Each war gave rise to greater additions whilst intervals of peace showed little diminution, its amount rising from £16 million in 1702 to £53 million at the time of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). In 1748 it reached £78 million and, at the close of the Seven Years' War, it stood at £137 million, only to exceed £238 million by the time the American colonies became independent. Apprehension of national bankruptcy led to the adoption of the device of a sinking fund but, in this instance, Pitt's usual sagacity failed him. The influence of Richard Price's theory induced the policy of assigning special sums for debt reduction without regard to the fundamental need to maintain a real surplus.