Fiscalité et revenu agraire en Espagne au xixe siécle

Abstract

This paper focuses on the fiscal burden born by agrarian income in Spain throughout the xixth century. The impact of the 1845 tax reform is assessed, in order to establish whether the contribution of agriculture increased or decreased after this reform, which set up an economically liberal system in Spain. The fiscal burden on the agrarian sector is quantified, with detailed figures given, and compared to the corresponding burden born by the industrial sector from 1850 to 1900. The paper concludes that the liberal tax structure favored this latter sector. It provides also an analysis of the fiscal burden on agrarian income through the study of a series of accounts from large estates. This microeconomic perspective leads to three main conclusions. First, income from landed estates were subjected to a heavy tax burden from 1865 on. Second, the tax structure played a role in the downward trend in agricultural income throughout the last third of the xixth century. Last, the share of the burden taken up by large landowners evolved in the same general upward direction as the level of taxation nationwide, only more quickly. These results contradict the traditional image of a real-estate and agricultural sector only marginally affected by the reform of 1845.