468 



A. D. 1799. 



1799, January 4''' — The afts 35 Geo. Ill, cc. 15, 80, and 36 Geo. IIT, 

 C. 76, relpeding the importation of Dutch property, and the adl 37 

 Geo. Ill, c. 21, empowering the king to regulate the trade at the Cape 

 of Good Hope, were continued till fix weeks after the commencement 

 of the next fefllon of parliament. [39 Geo. Ill, c. 1 2] 



January 9'" — The parliament ' being defirous to raife an ample con- 

 ' tribution for the profecution of the war,' impofed a tax oi ten per cent 

 on the annual income of all perfons having ^200 a-year or more, 

 whether arifing from eflate, agriculture, office, trade, or whatever 

 fource. Thofe, whofe incomes were under /^6o, were exempted ; and 

 perfons having from £^Go to £ig<^ were taxed according to a progreflive 

 fcale rifing from -^-5- to Vr of their incomes. In order to violate as little 

 as poffible the privacy neceffary in commercial concerns, particular com- 

 miflioners were appointed for receiving, and judging of, the flatements 

 of income delivered by perfons in trade, which they were enjoined to 

 keep fecret : and they were to iiTue indented certificates, marked, num- 

 bered, or lettered, without the names of the parties, who were there- 

 upon to pay into the bank the fums fpecified in the certificates. \c. 1 3] 

 This aft received feveral amendments, fome of them in the courfe of 

 the fame fefllon. But the tax was found not near fo produdive as it 

 was expeded *. 



January 19'" — The king, by an order in council, licenced a commercial 

 intercourle between Jamaica and S'. Domingo. 



January The directors of the bank advertifed, that they would pay 



* When the tax upon income w.is under the con- 

 sideration of parliament, Mr. Pitt, the chancellor of 

 the exchequer, laid before the house the following 

 Eslimate of the annual income of all the inhab- 

 itnnls of Great Britain, distinguishing the sources 

 whence it is derived. Miiiion. 



Rent of lands in England, reckoning") 

 40,000,000 of cultivated acres at tlie S 



average rent of 12/o J 



Tenants profits, three fourths of the rent . 



Titlies • 



Mines, inland navigations, and timber . . . 



Houses 



Professions 



Rent of lands, &c. in Scotland 



Income arising from possessions beyond 1 



the seas J 



Annuities from the public funds, deducting 

 foreign properly and the amount paid to 

 the commissioners for reducing the na- 

 tional debt J 



Profits on ^60,000,000 employed in for-| 



cign commerce, supposed 15 per cent . j 



Profits on domestic trade, and those derived 1 



from skill and industry J 



25 



5 

 3 

 0' 



15 



12 



28 



Total annual income of the people of Great") 

 Britain • • • J 



Mr. Pitt estimated die incomes of people having 

 less than st'lOO a-year to be ^£23,000,000, and 

 consequently there should bea£'l02,000,000 liable 

 to the fiill tax of ten per cent, which, with die taxes 

 upon incomes from ,i 00 to ^igg, should produce 

 a revenue considerably above ten millions. 



The amount of it for two years, agreeable to the 

 accounts made up at the office for taxes, was as 

 follows. 



Year ending 5"April 



By commissioners for gen-^ 

 eral purposes, and com- > 

 missioners of appeal . .J 



By commercial commissioners 



1800 

 4,426,0-17 

 1,175,577 



ISOl 

 4,348,315 

 1,394,837 



,601,624 5,743,150 



The account for the first of these years states a 

 sum of ife' 180,000 to sfe'200,000, as expected from 

 districts, whence complete returns had not been 

 received. One fifth of the sum assessed by the 

 commercial commissioners is stated to be derivetl 

 fiom income not acquired by commerce^ 



125 



