Tax administration and compliance: evidence from medieval Paris

Nathan Sussman and Al Slivinski

No 13512, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We analyze the Parisian taille of the late 13th century - a taxation mechanism used to finance periodic major expenditures by the French Crown, including wars. Our major finding is that this system was remarkably successful along a number of dimensions, in an environment without the administrative structures used by contemporary governments. The taille’s essential features were; an agreement between the king and city government to collect a fixed amount of revenue, and a collection process that made use of information about taxpayers held by their fellow artisans and/or neighbors. We show that it collected considerable sums without social unrest, with high levels of compliance, and administrative costs that were low even by modern standards. We also argue that its success may have lessons for improved tax collection and compliance in contemporary less-developed economies.

Keywords: Taxation; Evasion; Compliance; Institutions; Fairness; Middle ages; Paris (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H2 H21 H26 N13 N43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc, nep-his, nep-iue and nep-pbe
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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