Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Did William Petty (1623-1687) pioneer the carbon tax?

It is stable, easier to measure, hard to game

"Of all the Accumulative Excizes, that of Harthmoney or Smoak-money seems the best; and that onely because the easiest, and clearest, and fittest to ground a certain Revenue upon; it being easie to tell the number of Harths, which remove not as Heads or Polls do: Moreover, 'tis more easie to pay a small Tax, then to alter or abrogate Harths, even though they are useless and supernumerary; nor is it possible to cover them, because most of the neighbours know them; nor in new Building will any man who gives forty shillings for making a Chimney be without it for two."

No comments: