50. Crown Income Flashcards
What were the main forms of ordinary income?
Customs duties, profits from feudal dues, and rents from crown land
Where else had Elizabeth started putting money into?
Trading ventures
What was bad about trading ventures?
Profits were extremely variable
What was the main form of extraordinary income?
Parliamentary taxation
What did elizabeth benefit from the revision of?
The book of rates
What was the book of rates?
Governed the collection of customs duties that had taken place during Mary’s reign
When did the new rates come into force?
May 1558
What happened to imports?
More imports were now subject to tax and the tax substantially increased often by 100%
How did customs revenue change from 1556-7 to 1558-9?
£29,000 in 1556-7 to £82,000 in 1558-9
What happened to the increase in customs revenue?
It wasn’t maintained
How much did customs bring in in the 1590s?
£91,000 which didn’t keep place with inflation
How else did elizabeth increase customs?
Supported overseas trade
What did elizabeth encourage?
The finishing of cloth so a greater share of profits would stay in the country
What did most clothiers prefer to export?
Unfinished cloth
What was an unintended consequence of the new book of rates?
The higher duties led to an increase in smuggling
Why was Elizabeth’s new regulations against smuggling useless?
There wasn’t enough customs officers, and a good deal of corruption among those who did exist
What happened to revenue from crown owned over her reign?
£86,000 to £110,000
How were nobles adopting more agressive land management systems?
Used short term leases to increase rents
What leases were crown land on?
Long leases
How much money did Elizabeth raise by selling crown lands?
Over £600,000
When did profits from feudal dues decrease until?
1599
When did profits from feudal increase?
When Robert Cecil took over the court of wards
How did the Queen derive income from the church?
First Fruits and Tenths
What was First Fruits and Tenths?
A tax which had once gone to the pope but now goes to the crown
What did elizabeth keep vacant to gain income?
Bishoprics
What happened to recusancy fines as the reign progressed?
Increased
What was bad about recusancy fines?
Collection could be sporadic, especially in counties where the Naps were sympathetic to Catholicism
What forms were taxation granted in?
Fifteenths and tenths, and subsidies
How much did taxation usually bring in?
£140,000
What happened to assessments of how much tax people should pay?
Wealthy landowners were seriously under assessed
Who was an example of someone who’s income was under assessed?
Burghley
Why didn’t elizabeth rectify the problem of under assessed tax?
She didn’t want to alienate the gentry, and didn’t want to pay for a professional tax collecting service
How did elizabeth reduce costs?
-cutting back court salaries
-limited more extravagant menus
-surplus royal palaces were sold
-gifts of crown land and money were restricted to favorites
-used unpaid officials
-remodelled old ships
-avoided war
Who did Elizabeth rely on to administer her finances?
William Paulet
What financial reforms did William paulet implement?
Revaluing crown lands and raising customs duties
Who replaced paulet as Lord treasurer?
Cecil in 1572
What other financier did elizabeth rely on?
Sir Thomas Gresham
Who was Elizabeth’s most effective chancellor of the exchequer?
Sir Walter mildmay
What did the finance committee of the privy council do?
Drew up a budget, looked at where cuts could be made, collected debts to the crown, and considered the sale of crown lands
How many people did the exchequer employ?
80
What improvement to financial administration did Mary make that benefited Elizabeth?
Three quarters of royal revenue was now collected in one place, the exchequer of receipt, so the crown had a better idea about royal finances
What inefficient practice was paulet determined to end?
Storage of money in the homes of officials
What did paulet do to end the storage of money in homes of officials?
Insisted on his own officials taking charge so he had a better control of cash flow
What was bad about Paulet’s money storage policy?
The system deteriorated as his health wavered and the practice was never fully controlled
Why were officials susceptible to bribes and corruption?
There were few pay rises and inflation eroded their salaries
When was the Marian debt wiped out?
1584
How much was the Marian debt?
£227,000
How much surplus did elizabeth have in 1584?
£300,000
