The Revenue Problem

Medieval kings faced the same problems that trouble governments of today - how to raise enough (1) ______ to pay for such things as administration and defence. Despite a bewildering range of taxes, (2) _______ were nearly always short of money.

Most (3) ______ were difficult to collect, and people were not keen on paying unpopular taxes. Resentment over taxes also played a major role in pushing the American colonists to declare (4) ________ in 1776. The British insisted that the colonists pay taxes for their own defence, but would not grant them a political (5) _______ in London. This caused (6) _______ that led to the War of Independence and British defeat.

It was clear that a successful tax had to be easy to assess, easy to collect and difficult to avoid. Customs (7) ______ – taxes on certain goods imported and exported by sea – proved the most convenient solution.

Though they were never popular, they did not lead to some of the (8) ________ associated with other taxes. Customs duties were one of the most reliable (9) _______ of public revenue for many centuries.

Customs duties still generate revenue, but the modern Customs Service has far wider (10) ______. Its roles include the (11) ________ of international trade in drugs, illegal (12) _______ and other socially harmful _______ (13).

Exercise 20. Translate into Russian.

1. The Russian Customs Service predates the Mongol Yoke (1237-1480).

2. In Kievan Rus taxes were collected for transportation of goods through the frontiers of individual princedoms.

3. The first Russian Customs statute was handed down in 1667. It was strict towards foreigners, who were allowed to trade only in frontier towns on pain of confiscation.

4. Later Russian tsars approved laws limiting the import of foreign goods and defending Russian producers.