Pitt's Reforms

Question 1

What were the indirect taxes used by Pitt?

Answer 1

• taxes on luxurious items enjoyed by the upper class, i.e. wigs and hair powder
• taxes on working class via candles

Question 2

What was the result of the indirect taxes used by Pitt?

Answer 2

• income to treasury increased by £4 million by 1793

Question 3

What was the window tax? What was the response to this?

Answer 3

• tax on windows
• upper class would ridicule it and brick up their windows

Question 4

What was the Sinking Fund? What did it do in the short-term?

Answer 4

• reduced debt via taxation
• reduced national debt by £10 million by 1793
• £1mn paid into it each year

Question 5

How effective was the Sinking Fund in the long term?

Answer 5

• not popular during war time with France
• repealed in 1816

Question 6

What was a major issue surrounding trade?

Answer 6

• smuggling: bringing goods into the country illegally to avoid tariffs

Question 7

What was the excise bill?

Answer 7

• made tobacco and spirits untaxed to avoid the smuggling of it

Question 8

What was the Commutation Act?

Answer 8

• reduced tax on tea

Question 9

What was the Hovering Act?

Answer 9

• smuggling vessels searched for up to 12 miles out to sea and confiscated

Question 10

What policy did Pitt believe in, in regards to trade?

Answer 10

Free Trade - exchange of goods without tariffs

Question 11

Who is Adam Smith?

Answer 11

• founder of policy of free trade
• founder of modern day capitalism

Question 12

What and when was the Consolidation Act?

Answer 12

• 1787: simplified taxes to make them easier to collect

Question 13

What was the old taxation system based off of before the Consolidation Act?

Answer 13

• mercantilism

Question 14

What were the consequences of the Consolidation Act?

Answer 14

• at first, revenue from taxes decreased
• but the volume of legitimate trade increased

Question 15

What was put in place to ensure all Trading Acts were in place?

Answer 15

the Board of Trade

Question 16

What and when was the Eden Treaty? Why was this short lived?

Answer 16

• reduced tariffs on goods exchanged by Britain and France
• short lived due to the war
  -1786

Question 17

How effective was Pitt in reforming trade?

Answer 17

• effective: got what he wanted; increasing the value of imports to remove smuggling

Question 18

What were the issues with the British Administration?

Answer 18

• there was a lot of waste that had to be removed to save money as the government was inefficient

Question 19

What was the India Act? When was this passed?

Answer 19

• 1784
• restricted the exclusive powers the East India Trading Company had over the British empire

Question 20

What was put in place to monitor the East India Trading Company?

Answer 20

the Board of Control

Question 21

What was the result of the India Act?

Answer 21

• the EITC still had a lot of political and economical stakes over the area

Question 22

What did Pitt refuse and then abolish, in order to save money?

Answer 22

• the Clerkship of the Pells, which would’ve given £3000 a year
• sinecure offices
• to save money

Question 23

What was the Consolidated Fund?

Answer 23

• at the Bank of England
• where taxes were paid into
• where government funds came from

Question 24

What was the Audit Office?

Answer 24

• used to oversee public expenditure and curb corruption

Question 25

What did Pitt make to prevent money being wasted on stationary?

Answer 25

Central Stationary Department
and free post

Question 26

Overall, how efficient was Pitt at reforming the British Administration?

Answer 26

• somewhat
• he did make the administration more efficient and reduce the amount of money wasted
• faced opposition from MPs who benefited from the corruption within government
  -thus, Pitt couldn’t go to far with it as he needed the aristocratic MPs to support him

Question 27

What is mercantilism?

Answer 27

method of trade regulation which involved a complex system of tariffs on imports and exports