AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE GUILD SYSTEM AND EARLY FORMS OF DIRECT TAXATION

  • Unique Paper ID: 192663
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 9
  • PageNo: 1983-1986
  • Abstract:
  • The Guild System was an important economic and social institution used in the regulation of trade, profession, and taxation in the medieval period. Guilds functioned as organized associations of merchants and craftsmen, ensuring quality control, price stability, reasonable wages, and ordered contribution to public revenue. This research paper studies the evolution of the Guild System and examines its relevance to the concept of Direct Taxation. It highlights how the system's guild-based contributions play early forms of income-linked taxations, whereby members pay levies in relation to earnings, profession, and economic capacity. The paper takes into consideration secondary data from textbooks, historical records, and academic publications to analyze the functional similarities between guild contributions and modern direct taxes such as income tax and professional tax. This research concludes that the Guild System is fundamentally responsible for shaping structured tax administration and fiscal responsibility, hence serving as an important reference in understanding the development of direct tax systems.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{192663,
        author = {D S Mokshitha and Vaishali S and Sathwik C and Hitesh Gowda C},
        title = {AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE GUILD SYSTEM AND EARLY FORMS OF DIRECT TAXATION},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {9},
        pages = {1983-1986},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=192663},
        abstract = {The Guild System was an important economic and social institution used in the regulation of trade, profession, and taxation in the medieval period. Guilds functioned as organized associations of merchants and craftsmen, ensuring quality control, price stability, reasonable wages, and ordered contribution to public revenue. This research paper studies the evolution of the Guild System and examines its relevance to the concept of Direct Taxation. It highlights how the system's guild-based contributions play early forms of income-linked taxations, whereby members pay levies in relation to earnings, profession, and economic capacity. The paper takes into consideration secondary data from textbooks, historical records, and academic publications to analyze the functional similarities between guild contributions and modern direct taxes such as income tax and professional tax. This research concludes that the Guild System is fundamentally responsible for shaping structured tax administration and fiscal responsibility, hence serving as an important reference in understanding the development of direct tax systems.},
        keywords = {Guild System, Direct Taxation, Medieval Tax Practices, Incomebased Taxation, Ability to Pay Principle, Progressive Taxation, Tax Administration, Professional Guilds, Evolution of Tax Systems, Fiscal Responsibility},
        month = {February},
        }

Cite This Article

Mokshitha, D. S., & S, V., & C, S., & C, H. G. (2026). AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE GUILD SYSTEM AND EARLY FORMS OF DIRECT TAXATION. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 12(9), 1983–1986.

Related Articles