The History of Taxation

D P O'Brien is at the University of Durham. He is Editor of the Pickering & Chatto editions Foundations of Monetary Economics (1994) and John Ramsay McCulloch's Classical Writings on Economics (1995). Recently, he edited a three volume edition on The Foundations of Business Cycle Theory for Edward Elgar Publishing.

Volume 1 William Petty, Treatise of Taxes and Contributions (1692); Charles Davenant, Discourses on the Public Revenues, and on the Trade of England (1698, 1771 edition); Matthew Decker, Serious Considerations on the Several High Duties... (1748); David Hume, Of Taxes and of Public Credit (1752); Of Public Credit (1771); Francis Fauquier, An Essay on Ways and Means of Raising Money for the Present War (1757); James Steuart, Are Taxes a Spur to Industry... (1767); Lord Kames, General Considerations on Taxes (1774); Richard Price, An Appeal to the Public... (1774) Volume 2 Adam Smith, Of the Funds or Sources of Revenue which may peculiarly belong to the sovereign or Commonwealth...(1789); Jeremy Bentham, Supply without Burthen...(1793); Lord Auckland, The Substance of a Speech...on the Bill for Granting Certain Duties upon Income (1799); W Friend, Principles of Taxation (1799); Lord Liverpool, Review of the Arguments...in Support of the Bill...Imposing Certain Duties upon Income (1799); Henry Beeke, Observations on the Produce of the Income Tax... (1800) Volume 3 John Ramsay McCulloch, An Essay on a Reduction of the Interest of the National Debt... (1816); Richard Preston, A Review of the Present Ruined Condition of the Landed and Agricultural Interests... (1816); David Buchanan, Of Taxation and Of Public Debts (1817); Robert Hamilton, Examination of Dr. Price's... (1818); Jean Baptiste Say, Of Taxation and Of National Debt (1819); David Ricardo, Funding System (1820) Volume 4 H Wilkinson, The Principles of an Equitable and Efficient System of Finance (1820); J L Hubbersty, Brief Observations of the Necessity of the Property Tax (1820-1); Henry Parnell (Baron Congleton), Taxation, Summary of Retrenchment... (1830); Richard Heathfield, Observations occasioned by a Motion in the House of Commons... by G R Robinson... (1833); Edward Jones, Reflections on a Graduated Property and Income Tax (1833); George Poulett Scrope, Excessive and Misdirected Taxation (1833); R Hilditch, Aristocratic Taxation..., 2nd edition (1842) Volume 5 John Matson, Income Tax, a few words to the Operative and Lower classes... (1842); Arsene-Jules-Emile Juvenal Dupuit, Translation of De la Mesure de l'utilite des travaux publique (1844); David Buchanan, Of Taxation and Direct Taxes (1844); James Silk Buckingham, Plan for an Improved Income Tax... (1845); William Ray Smee, The Income Tax: its Extension... (1846); Samuel Cobham, Direct Taxation: the Income Tax, Property Tax and Free Trade (1848); John MacPherson MacLeod, Remarks on some Popular Objections to the Income Tax (1849); Charles Babbage, Thoughts on the Principles of Taxation with Reference to a Property Tax and its Exception, 2nd edition (1851); Thomas Gisborne, Thoughts on an Income Tax and on a Property Tax... (1852); G W Hemming, Just Income Tax, How Possible (1852); John Gellibrand Hubbard, How Should an Income Tax be Levied? (1852) Volume 6 John Coode, The Income Tax (1853); William Farr, The Income and Property Tax (1853); John Gorham Maitland, Property and Income Tax: The Present State of the Question (1853); John Gellibrand Hubbard, Reform or Reject the Income Tax... (1853); Leonard H Courteney, Direct Taxation, an Enquiry (1860); John Ramsay McCulloch, An Article, Practical and Theoretical on Taxation (1860); Leslie Thomas Edward Cliffe, Income Tax Reform (1862) Volume 7 William Lucas Sargant, An Undiscriminating Income Tax Reconsidered (1862); John Ramsay McCulloch, Taxes on Property and Income (1863); Samuel Morton Peto, Survey of the Subject and Property and Income Tax (1863); George Warde Norman, Examination of some Prevailing Opinions as to the Pressure of Taxation in This and Other Countries (1864); John Stuart Mill, Of the General Principles of Taxation... (1871) Volume 8 Fleeming Jenkin, On the Principles which Regulate the Incidence of Taxes (1871-2); P Hallett, The Income Tax Question (1874); Leone Levi, On the Reconstruction of the Income and Property Tax (1874); Arnold Jacob Cohen-Stuart, On Progressive Taxation (1889); Edwin Robert Anderson Seligman, The Theory of Progressive Taxation (1893); Knut Wicksell, A New Principle of Just Taxation (1896); Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, The Pure Theory of Taxation (1897); Edwin Cannan, Equity and Economy in Taxation (1901); Gustave Cassel, The Theory of Progressive Taxation (1901); Thomas Nixon Carver, The Minimum Sacrifice Theory of Taxation (1904)