Mirabeau

Best.-Nr. 352620 — Théorie de l'impôt. 4to. VIII 336 pp. Publisher's original boards untrimmed. Covers somewhat foxed spine strenghtened in the time with vellum slightly worn corners worn some minor foxing few small stains in outer margins edges lightly dust-soiled. - Paris o. Dr. 1760. Very rare first edition in quarto of Mirabeau's chief work which led to the author's arrest at Vincennes. Assisted by François Quesnay Mirabeau's first book of his own after his conversion to Physiocracy offers an exposition of his economic ideas. On fiscal matters the Physiocrats famously pushed for their "single tax" l'impôt unique on landed property. The logic as laid out by Mirabeau seemed compelling. Any taxes levied throughout the economy will just passed from sector to sector until they fall upon the net product. As land is the only source of wealth then the burden of all taxes ultimately bears down on the landowner. So instead of levying a complicated collection of scattered taxes which are difficult to administer and can cause temporary distortions it is most efficient to just go to the root and tax land rents directly. This book was published the same year also in a duodecimo edition which is fare more current than the present quarto edition. - Untrimmed copy with wide margins Provenance: From the collection of Basel economics professor Edgar Salin 1892-1974 with his handwritten entry on the first flyleaf. References: Tchemerzine VIII 285; Barbier IV 702; Kress 5883; Humpert 13028; Higgs 2297; INED 3209; Goldsmith 9602. Paris 1760