Easy rule of thumb for working with Dutch records: If you wanted it or needed it, there probably was a tax on it. Marriage tax. Window tax. Hearth tax. Beer tax. Tobacco tax. Servant tax. Petrol tax. Dog tax. Real estate tax. Genealogists must be the only people in the world who like taxes, because of the wonderful records they created! … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Tol
9 May 2016 by Leave a Comment
A tol was a toll, which was collected by a tolgaarder or tollenaar (toll collector). In earlier times, there were many tolls, often collected at strategically important locations along roads and rivers. Sometimes, a toll only had to be paid for transporting goods, but often even pedestrians had to pay a fee in order to pass. Treaties may have exempted some people from having to pay a toll. For some of these tolls, toll records have survived. They can provide useful insights into the lives … [Read more...]
Dutch term – Belasting
7 March 2016 by Leave a Comment
Belasting means tax. The high tax burden in the Netherlands was (and still is) one of the reasons for people to emigrate. Before about 1810, different regions had different taxes. And even in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, there were taxes that we would not expect today. To name a few: Real estate tax Income tax Value-added tax Poll tax Marriage tax Burial tax Hearth tax Salt tax Spice tax Servant tax Bicycle tax Dog tax Cow tax Alcohol tax Tobacco … [Read more...]
