Salt tax

A salt tax was a tax levied directly on salt, usually proportional to the amount of salt purchased. In ancient times, salt was extremely valuable as a preservant, and, in some cultures, nearly worth its weight in gold. Words such as salary are derived from the same root as salt and indicate its vitality to civilizations. As an example, ancient "salaries" could literally be quantities of salt.

Due to the scarcity and importance of salt, levying a tax on its commerce was extremely lucrative, but also widely despised and controversial.

Notable examples of salt taxation throughout history include:

The French Gabelle, which was a contributing factor to the French Revolution
The salt tax in China at various times including that under the Tang and the Mongol Yuan.
The salt tax in India including that under the British. Gandhi protested this with the Salt March, and it was a contributing factor to the Indian Revolution.
A Russian salt tax led to an uprising known as the Salt Riot.

Salt tax in alternate form

In 2014, it is still illegal in certain provinces of China to use salt from a neighbor city.^[1]

References

↑ Apple Daily

Salt

History	History of salt In the American Civil War International Salt Co. v. United States In Middlewich Old Salt Route In Chinese history Salt March Salt road

Types	List of edible salts Alaea Bittern Black lava Butter Celery Curing Cyclic Dairy Flake Fleur de sel Garlic Himalayan Iodised Kala Namak Kosher LoSalt Calcium chloride Pickling Potassium chloride Potassium nitrate Sodium nitrate Onion RealSalt Rock Sea salt Seasoned Sel gris Smoked Truffle

Food usage	Brine Cheese brining Salted foods Salt-cured meat Health effects Salt and cardiovascular disease

Commerce and industry	Salt Industry Commission Evaporation pond Production Salt mining Open-pan salt making List of countries by salt production

By region	In Cheshire In Ghana In Syracuse, New York

Culture	Salt in the Bible Salting the earth

Miscellaneous	Mineral lick Smelling salts

Category

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