Tax resistance , the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. Many rebellions and revolutions have been prompted by resentment of taxation or had tax refusal as a component. Examples of historic events that originated as tax revolts include the Magna Carta , the American Revolution , and the French Revolution. This page is a partial list of global tax revolts and tax resistance actions that have come to the attention of Wikipedia's editors.
This includes actions in which a person or people refused to pay a tax of some sort, either through passive resistance or by actively obstructing the tax collector or collecting authorities, and actions in which people boycotted some taxed good or activity or engaged in a strike to reduce or eliminate the tax due.
In AD residents of Limoges , encouraged by the local clergy, rioted, destroying tax-collecting paraphernalia and threatening the assessor. The government responded harshly, with punishments including torture and crucifixion, though Queen Fredegund later was said to have repented and rescinded the tax.
In councils organized by the Peace and Truce of God movement, Christian clergy resisted the exaction of taxes against church property by warlords. In , residents of Worcester rebelled against the Danegeld being collected by King Harthacnut , and killed two of his tax collectors. Harthacnut responded by burning Worcester to the ground. When Alexios III Angelos tried to tax residents of Constantinople to come up with money to pay protection money to Henry VI , the people of Constantinople refused to pay, and Alexios was reduced to trying to collect the sum by stripping the ornaments from old tombs.
A war tax instituted by the Florentine seigniory in and increased in led to mass tax resistance that forced the government to abandon the tax. In , Pope Boniface VIII issued the clericis laicos , which prohibited secular governments from taxing churches without the permission of the Pope, and prohibited church officials from paying such taxes.
