Just Taxes The Politics of Taxation in Britain, 1914–1979

In 1914, taxation was about 10 per cent of GNP; by 1979, taxes had risen to almost half of the total national income, and contributed to the rise of Thatcher. Martin Daunton continues the story begun in Trusting Leviathan, offering a unique analysis of the politics of acceptance of huge tax rises after the First World War and asks why it did not provoke the same levels of discontent in Britain as it did on the continent. He further questions why acceptance gave way to hostility at the end of this period. Daunton views taxes as the central driving force for equity or efficiency. As such he provides a detailed discussion of their potential in providing revenue for the state, and their use in shaping the social structure and influencing economic growth. Just Taxes places taxation in its proper place, at the centre of modern British history.

List of figures; List of tables; Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. The taxing state: an introduction; 2. 'The limits of our taxable capacity': war finance, 1914–1918; 3. 'This hideous war memorial': debt and taxation, 1918–1925; 4. 'Adjusting the particular turns of the different screws': reforming the income tax, 1920–1929; 5. 'The great conflict of modern politics': redistribution, depression and appeasement, 1929–1939; 6. 'The exigency of war': taxation and the Second World War, 1939–1945; 7. 'The mortal blows of taxation': Labour and reconstruction, 1945–1951; 8. 'A most injurious disincentive in our economic system': Conservatives and taxation, 1951–1964; 9. 'Modern and dynamic economic policy': Labour and taxation, 1951–1970; 10. Rethinking taxation policy: from an opportunity state to an enterprise society, 1964–1979; 11. 'Highly defensible ramparts': the politics of local taxation; 12. Conclusion; Appendix: chancellors of the Exchequer and prime ministers, 1908–1983; Bibliography; Index.

Professor Martin Daunton's major work of original synthesis explores the politics of taxation in the twentieth century. Combining research with a comprehensive survey of existing knowledge, this lucid and wide-ranging book examines the complex financial relationship between the State and its citizens in modern Britain.

MARTIN DAUNTON, FBA, is Fellow of Churchill College and Professor of Economic History in the University of Cambridge.