A salt tax is literally a tax levied directly on salt, usually proportional to the amount of salt purchased (e.g. by the pound). In ancient times, salt was extremely valuable as a preservant, and, in some cultures, nearly worth its weight in gold. Words such as salary are derived from the same root as salt and indicate its vitality to civilizations. As an example, ancient "salaries" could literally be quantities of salt.
Due to the rarity and importance of salt, levying a tax on its commerce was extremely lucrative, but also widely despised and controversial.
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Famous quotes containing the words salt and/or tax:
“A peasant becomes fond of his pig and is glad to salt away its pork. What is significant, and is so difficult for the urban stranger to understand, is that the two statements are connected by an and and not by a but.”
—John Berger (b. 1926)
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—Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort (1741–1794)