ABSTRACT
After quite a long introduction devoted to the history of taxation in Antiquity, followed by a section on the feudal period under the first French kings, this paper describes the organization of the administration of the public finances from the time of Philip the Fair (1285–1314) at the beginning of the 14th century. The oldest known state budget dates from 1311. But it appears that it was necessary to wait until the reign of Charles VIII (1483–1498) for the form in which the accounts were to be rendered to be fixed. During the Renaissance, Francis I (1515–1547) reorganized the administration of the public finances. In each of the sixteen généralités (the administrative divisions of the time), a receiver-general collected direct taxes, whilst the indirect taxes were farmed out for a fixed fee.
The absence of effective controls often led to the embezzlement of the state revenues to the profit of private interests. At the very beginning of the 16th century, putting the public finances in order was one of the major preoccupations of Sully (the minister of Henry IV). Amongst other measures, he prescribed the keeping by accountants of a standardized journal, but this had little effect on practice. Colbert (the minister of Louis XIV) also undertook to reform the public finances and he reorganized the accounting. His successors also tried to do so, with varying success.
The Revolution saw the disappearance of the tax farmers, and few receivers-general escaped the guillotine. But the changes introduced into the organization of the public finances did not eliminate corruption and abuse. Not until the First Empire (1804–1814) did Mollien put in place an organization which ensured a more effective control of the handling of the state finances. Double entry was introduced into Treasury accounting. The basic principles of public sector accounting were henceforth fixed; and, in particular the separation of the paymaster from the accountant, i.e., between the person deciding that an expense be incurred and the person responsible for it being paid.
