William Pitt Reforms Flashcards
What financial reforms did William Pitt introduce
Tightly managed Sinking Fund
into which he paid £1 million a year from taxation
Positives ?
Successful peacetime policy
cut debt by 10 million
helped restore national confidence
Negatives ?
Failure as a war-time policy
What trade reforms did Pitt implement
Consolidation Act of 1787
Hoovering Act
An Excise Bill
What did the Consolidation Act do ??
The act, lowered, simplified, and removed complex custom duties on both imports and exports . The
act amalgamated all goods into one tax not several.
positives of the act ?
the changes made the collection of taxes easier and more efficient
What was the Hoovering Act ?
Enabled authorities to confiscate ships discovered to be smuggling goods within four miles of the shore.
benefits of Hoovering Act
reduced the attractivness of smuggling, helped promote legitimate trade
What was the Excise Bill
allowed tobacco and spirits to enter tax free to stored and bonded in warehouses and then re-exported tax free
why were these reforms put in place ??
to increase the volume of legitimate trade, however in the short term overall income from taxation was reduced
what new taxes did Pitt introduce ?
Pitt recouped the losses from the reduction of customs duties by introducing new indirect taxes. These included taxes on horses, coaches, windows, bricks, hats, playing cards, maid servants. All on things that the wealthy aspiring classes used, so could afford to pay it.
How was Pitts approach into increasing taxation seen ?
praised by some, ridiculed by others
What commercial treaties did Pitt implement
Attempted a trade deal with Ireland, but was strongly opposed as British manufacturers feared competition as Irish wages were low.
Successful in trade deal with France whereby both countries reduced duties in imports. Success was short lived however due to French Revolution.
What administrative problems were there ?
inefficient need of overhauling
no set procedures for carrying out daily government procedures which led to confusion and inefficiency
MP’s took advantage of privileges such as free post
no proper system for checking government accounts
government loan system was corrupt as ministers allowed their friends to raise loans at high interest rates
government ministers who enriched themselves through accepting profitable sinecure offices.
what is a sinecure office ??
a position with salary, handed out by MP’s to gain their support with the role requiring little or no work
