The Birth of Income Tax 1799

Imagine it is 1799. Britain is locked in a desperate and costly struggle

against the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. I propose a tax on income. Not for eternity,

but merely to fund our defense against the French threat! War is expensive.

Pitt needed millions to keep the Royal Navy afloat and the army marching across Europe.

To sell the idea to a skeptical public, he made a bold promise:

this tax would be strictly temporary, ending once the war was won. The war ended

in 1815, but as we all know, nothing is quite as permanent as

a temporary government tax. Curious how today’s world was really built?