Belasting means tax. The high tax burden in the Netherlands was (and still is) one of the reasons for people to emigrate. Before about 1810, different regions had different taxes. And even in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there were taxes that we would not expect today. To name a few:
Tax shield from Rotterdam, about 1800. Credits: Museum Rotterdam (public domain)
- Real estate tax
- Income tax
- Value-added tax
- Poll tax
- Marriage tax
- Burial tax
- Hearth tax
- Salt tax
- Spice tax
- Servant tax
- Bicycle tax
- Dog tax
- Cow tax
- Alcohol tax
- Tobacco tax
- Gas tax
- Window tax
- Step tax (tax on the number of steps in front of your front door)
Reading this list, it’s a miracle that any of us are left 🙂
About Yvette Hoitink
