Get The Origins Of Tax Systems: A French- American Comparison1

In France there are three categories of taxes on income: the corporate tax, the income tax for individuals and taxes for social purposes (CSG and the CRDS, paid by the households). Taxes paid by employers on wages, namely social contributions, are not considered as taxes by the French central government.

The nobles and the clergy were largely excluded from taxation while the commoners paid disproportionately high direct taxes. The desire for more efficient tax collection was one of the major causes for French administrative and royal centralization.

In France there are three categories of taxes on income: the corporate tax, the income tax for individuals and taxes for social purposes (CSG and the CRDS, paid by the households). Taxes paid by employers on wages, namely social contributions, are not considered as taxes by the French central government.

All royal officials understood the need to reform and rationalize both the imposition and the collection of taxes; many nobles were exempted from taxation, especially in northern France, and many taxes were inefficiently collected by private tax-farmers.

Painting of the American Revolution; brief video footage of WWI and II warfare Right, so France in the 18th century was a rich and populous country, but it had a systemic problem collecting taxes because of the way its society was structured. They had a system with kings and nobles we now call the Ancien Règime.

The tax systems in France were unjust on the 3rd estate and made it hard for them to survive this lead them to rise up against the government. France was in great debt that led to the collapse of their economy and then the people's Revolution.

It was inefficient because many taxes were collected by a network of private contractors dubbed 'tax farmers', a system that encouraged graft, corruption and tax avoidance. It was unfair because the bulk of the nation's direct taxation was levied on the Third Estate.

The earliest recorded evidence of a death tax came from ancient Egypt, where they charged a 10% tax on property transferred at time of death in 700 BC. Since then, the way we pay taxes has changed significantly. However, some ancient taxes have survived across history and persisted into the modern world.