Legal Definitions - fortaxed

Fortaxed

Fortaxed is a historical legal term used to describe a situation where an individual or entity was subjected to taxation that was either incorrect due to an error or misapplication of the law, or excessively burdensome and unjust, akin to extortion. It refers to being unfairly or oppressively taxed.

• Imagine a farmer in 17th-century England whose land was mistakenly surveyed as being larger than its actual size. As a result, the local tax collector assessed a land tax based on the incorrect, larger measurement, causing the farmer to pay significantly more than legally required for their actual acreage.

  This farmer would be considered fortaxed because they were wrongly taxed due to an error in the assessment of their property.

• Consider a group of merchants in a medieval city who were suddenly compelled by a powerful local baron to pay an arbitrary "special levy" that was far beyond the established tax rates and had no legal basis. The baron used the funds for personal gain rather than for public services, placing an undue and oppressive financial burden on the merchants.

  These merchants would be deemed fortaxed because they were subjected to an extortionate and unjust tax imposition that was excessive and lacked proper legal authority.

• Picture a specific community within a historical kingdom that, due to their ethnic background, was arbitrarily singled out and forced to pay disproportionately higher taxes on their goods and property compared to other communities, despite no legal justification for such discrimination.

  This community would be considered fortaxed because they were both wrongly taxed (due to discriminatory application without legal basis) and extortionately taxed (due to the excessive and unjust burden placed upon them).