Papal income tax was first leveled in 1199 by Pope Innocent III, originally requiring all Catholic clergy to pay one-fortieth of their ecclesiastical income annually in support of the Crusades. The second income tax was not levied until the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, and constituted only a triennial twentieth.
This precedent was frequently continued by the successors of Innocent III, enforced by ecclesiastical censure, by sequestration, and ...
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Papal income tax was first leveled in 1199 by Pope Innocent III, originally requiring all Catholic clergy to pay one-fortieth of their ecclesiastical income annually in support of the Crusades. The second income tax was not levied until the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, and constituted only a triennial twentieth.
This precedent was frequently continued by the successors of Innocent III, enforced by ecclesiastical censure, by sequestration, and frequently by the use of force. The first time the tax was imposed, contributors were promised that a quarter of the penances would be rebated if payments were made willingly and honestly; the second time, non-compliance was simply threatened with excommunication. On a few occasions popes convoked a general council before imposing an income tax, but more often imposed the tax solely on their own authority.
The power was later used for Crusades outside of the Holy Land. For example, Pope Gregory IX in 1228 levied a one-tenth income tax to fund...
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