History of the English fiscal system

The history of the English fiscal system affords the best known example of continuous financial development in terms of both institutions and methods. Although periods of great upheaval occurred from the time of the Norman Conquest to the beginning of the 20th century, the line of connection is almost entirely unbroken. Perhaps the most revolutionary changes occurred in the 17th century as a result of the Civil War and, later, the Glorious Revolution of 1688; though even then there was no real breach of continuity.

The primitive financial institutions of early England centred round the king's household. In other words, the royal preceded the national economy in importance. Revenue dues collected by the king's agents, rents, or rather returns of produce from land, and special levies for emergencies formed the main elements of the royal income which gradually acquired greater regularity and consistency. There is, however, little or no evidence of what modern governments recognise as financial organisation until the 11th century. The influence exercised from Normandy, which so powerfully affected the English rulers at this time, tended towards the creation of records of revenue claims as well as a central treasury.

Following the Glorious Revolution, control of finance passed more and more to Parliament, which together with the decline of the importance of land rents as a source of income from about the Wars of the Roses led to different forms of taxation.

With the union of England and Normandy under William the Conqueror, the idea of settled administrative methods became fixed and of special importance in the financial sphere. The systematizing spirit, so characteristic of both the Norman and Angevin kings, produced the great institution of the Exchequer with its judicial and administrative sections and its elaborate forms of account and control.

But even before this, the Domesday Book, now recognized as having a purely fiscal object (in Maitland's words a tax book, a geld book), shows the movement towards careful observation of all sources of revenue. It is clear that William I of England initiated a policy which was followed by his successors despite the serious difficulties during the anarchy that subsisted during Stephen's reign. The obscure question as to the real origin of the special contrivances employed by the Exchequer is, strictly speaking, irrelevant to the financial inquirer, who may be content to hold that, other than the existence of a few Old English analogies, the system, as it appears in the 12th century, is a product peculiar to the conceptions of fiscal organization formed by Norman subtlety. Indeed, its importance lies in the manner in which the institution held together, focussing as it did on the revenues and expenditure of the kingdom.

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