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\u201cIn this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes\u201d, the American statesman Benjamin Franklin once said, but until 9 January, 1799, taxation looked very different to the way it does today, because this was the day the world was first introduced to income tax.\nIts introduction by British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger was not one of his most popular innovations, but he had good reason to be wanting to bring more money into the government\u2019s coffers, given the national debt had doubled during the American War of Independence and now stood at \xa3243 million.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why there was a bonfire outside Westminster the day income tax was eventually repealed; marvel that taxation used to target the wealthy rather than the poor; and reveal why taxing farts is more sensible than it sounds\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u20189 January 1799: income tax introduced to Britain\u2019 (Money Week, 2021): https://moneyweek.com/372129/9-january-1799-income-tax-introduced-to-britain\xa0\n\u2022 \u2018A short history of income tax\u2019 (The Independent, 1995): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/a-short-history-of-income-tax-1577708.html\n\u2022 \u2018William Hague on William Pitt\u2019 (Cambridge University, 2010):\xa0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0tHmYEaqok\n#1700s #UK #Politics #Economics\nLove the show? Join\xa0\U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\xa0\U0001f334 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!\nPlus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.\nJoin now via\xa0Apple Podcasts\xa0or\xa0Patreon.\xa0Thanks!\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices