The origin of the tax system in Russia: per capita tax

The introduction of a poll tax in Russia is associated with the name of Peter the Great. However, such a form of tax existed long before its appearance in our country, in the territory of ancient Rome, later - in many European countries, and was abolished at the end of the 19th century after the introduction of a new income tax form.

In 1724 in Russia the population census was completed, which did not include clerics and nobles. As a result of this event, a tax was determined, which from now on was to be paid by all the country's men, including newborns and the elderly. Puffy tax is a special form of tax levied on certain residents of the country in favor of the state treasury. It should be recalled that such a tax (tax or tax) existed in Rus since the 15th century, and church officials and higher privileged estates were also exempted from paying it.

In the autumn of 1718, Emperor Peter the First demanded the collection of revisionist "fairy tales", that is, a census of the entire male population of the country. "Tales" at the time called special documents, which reflected the results of the census. In this document the personal data of the owner of a certain court and members of his family (last name, first name, patronymic, age) were indicated. Compilation of audit "fairy tales" in the urban area involved representatives of the city's administration, in rural - the elder, the landlords or their managers. Revizskie "fairy tales" were subject to mandatory clarification, during periods between their collection, the absence or presence of a person at the place of his residence was recorded. If the person was absent, the reason (death, escape, service in the army) was indicated. All clarifications were related to the subsequent after the collection of "fairy tales" to the year. In simple terms, a person could die, and his family had to pay for him for the next year after his death. Such a system of conducting the census allowed the state to raise the collection of the tax and make good money on the so-called "dead souls".

The census started in 1718 was completed only in 1724, as a result of its conduct, about five million people (souls) were counted. Some historians believe that the poll tax, introduced by Peter the First, had only one goal - to collect money from the population for the maintenance of the Russian army in operation. The first rate of this tax was 80 kopecks per year from one member of the family (male), in subsequent years it fell to 74 kopecks. The Old Believers paid a double rate of poll tax until 1782, due to which the common people christened them "dvoedanami." Until 1775, the merchant class was obliged to pay taxes on an equal basis with the rest, then specifically for them were introduced interest charges from the capital available in the ownership.

The gradual increase in state expenditures could not but affect the amount of tax levied on the ordinary population of the country. By 1794 the per capita tax was raised to one ruble. From the middle of the 19th century, the amount of tax became completely dependent on the place of residence of the payer. Residents of cities were obliged to pay annually to the state in the amount of 2 rubles 61 kopecks. The airborne lodging of the villagers amounted to 1 ruble 15 kopecks by this time.

For several decades, this type of tax was the main source of state revenue. With the introduction of an indirect tax (surcharge to the price for a good or service), its importance for maintaining the state treasury has significantly decreased. In 1863, the collection of poll tax was abolished from the middle class (lower city estate) and guild (artisans, masters, their students and assistants) practically throughout the entire Russian Empire (with the exception of Siberia and Bessarabia).

The large debts of the population to the state, the difficulty in collecting taxes, led to the fact that in 1887 the per capita tax in Russia ceased to exist. The exception was Siberia, where this tax was levied from the population until the beginning of the twentieth century.