The Tax Efficacy of the Royal Fifths Tax Collection System: The Second Head Tax in Minas Gerais, 1736-1751

Abstract

The collection of the fifths tax levied on the gold produced in colonial Brazil was carried out by means of at least five different systems of tax collection. This reformism in tax matters can be attributed to the search for greater tax efficiency in each collection system, but also, without a doubt, to the novelty of mining as an economic activity, as well as the fact that mining-related duties were collected not by the traditional farming tax system, but by royal officials. This article analyzes the effectiveness of the collection of the fifths tax through one of these systems, the head tax, which was in place between the second half of 1735 and the first half of 1751. Based on the comparison between the amounts raised and the minimum quota established by the Portuguese crown, on the one hand, and between the income of the fifths tax during the periods 1735-1751 and 1751-1766, on the other hand, it is shown that the effectiveness of the head tax is incontestable. These results point to the need to further study the reasons that may have led the Crown to change a tax collection system that was proven to be efficient for another, which was not capable of meeting the established quota.

Keywords:
fifths tax; head tax; Minas Gerais