The Municipality of Funchal and its Custom Revenue: Origin and Evolution of a Vital Tax Within the City Council Administration (1872-1910)

Abstract

From 1872 onwards, Portuguese islands municipalities acquired the right to collect indirect taxes on imported products at their customs. Within Madeira archipelago, Funchal was the only city which had customs with a continuous commercial activity. According to the municipal customs tax regulation, it was established that Funchal’s customs had, monthly, to deliver to the city council, the amounts collected under this item. The survey and analysis of all accounting records of Funchal’s city council, between 1872 (the beginning of the municipal customs tax collection) and 1910 (end of the constitutional monarchy regime), allow to assess the relevance of this tax in the total of its revenue. Based on this observation, an analysis is proposed in order to understand: 1st these taxes’ legislative framework; 2nd its values, its evolution and representativeness within municipal revenue; 3rd the municipal customs taxes collection internal table structure and its evolution; 4th the relationship between this table and the local economic life.

Keywords

Funchal; County; Custom Taxes; Legislation.