Unequal taxation helped fuel the French Revolution, say economists

Deep inequalities in taxation played a key role in fueling the French Revolution, according to a new study published by the ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin). For the first time, economists have substantiated this with figures. In areas where salt taxes and internal customs duties were particularly high, there were twice as many revolts as in low-tax districts between 1750 and 1789.

“Discontent was also reflected in the ‘petitions’ (Cahiers de doléances) submitted to the king by representatives of the commoners in early 1789. Regions facing higher taxes recorded 72% more complaints about taxes and customs duties in their petitions to the king,” says Marco Tabellini, research fellow at RFBerlin, assistant professor at Harvard Business School and co-author of the study.

The taxes varied dramatically across France. In low-tax districts, households paid 2.5% of their annual income on salt. In high-tax districts, the figure reached 13%.

“This long-standing resentment coincided in 1788 with a particularly dry summer, followed by an exceptionally cold winter, causing bread prices to soar and triggering a wave of hunger riots,” adds Tabellini.

The king, however, wanted to raise taxes in early 1789 because his military support for the Americans in their War of Independence against the British, as well as his lavish spending at the court at Versailles, had ruined the country. France had accumulated substantial debt by 1789, but the king was unwilling to declare bankruptcy.

The effects of unequal taxation persisted throughout the Revolution. Districts that had faced the highest taxes were more affected by the rural uprisings that followed the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, and culminated in August 1789 with the abolition of feudal privileges, including the nobility’s tax exemptions.

The political consequences were equally significant. “Deputies from heavily taxed districts were also more critical of the monarchy, more supportive of revolutionary reforms, and more likely to vote for the king’s execution in January 1793,” says Tabellini. “This is evident from parliamentary speeches from May 1789 to January 1793.”

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