vingtième

The vingtième was a direct tax in France before the Revolution of 1789. Introduced in 1749, it was intended as a 5 percent tax on income, but nobles and officials were often exempt. This tax was part of a broader, often irrational, fiscal structure that included other direct taxes like the taille and capitation, as well as unpopular indirect taxes such as the salt tax (gabelle) and customs duties (traites). Attempts at tax reform, like those by Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville and Joseph-Marie Terray, aimed to rationalize the system and address the crown's debts, but often faced opposition from privileged classes and the parlements (high courts). The vingtième was ultimately abolished with the Revolution.123