The Reform of the British Death Duties during the "Great Depression"

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Other Title
  • 「大不況」期におけるイギリス相続税改革
  • 「大不況」期における相続税改革
  • ダイフキョウ キ ニ オケル ソウゾクゼイ カイカク

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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to make clear the historical factors, the contents, and the historical significance of the reform of the death duties of 1894. The conclusions the author could draw are summed up as follows. First, the reform of the death duties of 1894 was proposed in order to solve the urban housing-problem which had been caused by the existing systems of urban rates and death duties, and also to meet the expanding naval expenditure since the mid 1880's. Second, so far landed property, unlike personalty, was altogether exempted from the probate duty, and charged only upon the value of life-interest of successor therein with the succession duty, on the ground that under a system of settlement the owner of the land had only a life estate and no power to dispose of the land in fee simple. Therefore, after the enactment of the Settled Land Act of 1882 which conferred a tenant for life all the powers that an owner in fee simple could execuse, the reform of the death duties of 1894 was accomplished. Third, the reform of the death duties of 1894 concretized the new principle of taxation that all property passing at death, whether real or personal, and whether settled or not settled, should be taxed upon it's principal value at graduated rates. The new principle was gradually realized since the early 1880's. Fourth, the reform of the death duties of 1894 implys a change in the composition of classes of the British capitalism. Namely, by the reform of 1894 landed classes were for the first time taxed to the same extent as capital classes, which means that interests of the capital classes (and working classes) were able to be carried through at the sacrifice of the landed classes that had restricted the development of the former classes because of their acquisition of the "unearned increment" of land. Fifth, and last, though the land taxers had demanded not only a new death duty on real property but also a special rate on land, the reform of 1894 realized only the new death duty and not the special rate, which came to be realized eventually as the Land Value Duties in the "People's Budget" of 1910.

Journal

  • The Journal of Agrarian History

    The Journal of Agrarian History 24 (3), 1-20, 1982

    The Agrarian History Society (Renamed as The Political Economy and Economic History Society)

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