Learning from French Experience? The Prussian Régie Tax Administration, 1766‑86

Abstract

In 1766, some 350 Frenchmen reached Berlin. They were not the first immigrants to arrive in Prussia, nor were they the last foreigners who contributed to the fascinating rise of the Prussian state over the centuries. The Frenchmen who arrived in the capital in 1766 were different from most of the other immigrants who had passed through the gates of Berlin previously. They were not religious refugees or makers of silk, hats or gloves like many of their compatriots. They were not in the business of making goods but rather in the business of taking them: they were tax administrators. During the following 20 years they created a completely new tax administration for indirect taxes in the Prussian states, commonly known as the Régie. While the new institution had the support of Frederick II, it was also widely criticized: the French tax administrators were perhaps the most controversial public figures in Prussia in the period. The opposition against them remained strong and when Frederick II died in 1786, his successor dismissed the French advisers. However, many of the changes which they had introduced had a lasting impact; the creation of the Régie must count as one of the most important turning points in Prussia’s financial history.¹