The taille originated in the early Middle Ages as an arbitrary exaction from peasants. Often commuted or renounced after 1150, it was revived in regulated forms in the later Middle Ages.

Who pays the tax called taille?

In the decades leading to the French Revolution, peasants paid a land tax to the state (the taille) and a 5% property tax (the vingtième; see below).

Why did the gabelle happen?

In the 15th century the gabelle began to mean specifically the salt tax, that is, a tax on consumption of salt. The nobility, the clergy, and certain other privileged persons were exempted. The high rate and unequal distribution of the gabelle provoked widespread contraband dealing in salt by smugglers.