1 |
Previous | 1 of 3 | Next |
|
This page
All
Subset
|
A SIGNIFICANT SOURCE FOR ACCOUNTING HISTORICAL
RESEARCH:
THE CATASTO OF 1427 IN FLORENCE
by
Richard Vangermeersch
University of Rhode Island
Ferdinand Scehevill's 1938 book, History of Florence: From the Founding of the City through
the Renaissance, mentioned that the Catasto of 1427 was a relatively equitable income tax, based
on an anticipated earning rate of 5 percent on equity (pp.345-346). The tax failed by 1434
because of dishonest administration (p. 364). What accounting historians should note was that
the base of the 1427 Catasto, the same base of Pacioli in 1494, is that of a list of all assets and
liabilities (pp.345-346). There is a copy of the 1427 law in the 1765-66 book Delia Decima e
di Varie Altre Gravezze Imposte del Communedi Firense (Schevill, p.346), which is available on
microfilm.
I have a photocopy of the law, which is in Medieval Latin. I have recently found that
David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber published Les Toscans et leurs familes in 1978 and
a shortened 1985 version of it in English, Tuscans and their Families: A Study of the Florentine
Catasto of 1427 (Yale University Press). Chapter 4, entitled "Wealth and Enterprise." is of
much interest to researchers in the history of accounting. Many sources are noted in that chapter.
Apparently, many of the basic documents from 1427-1434 are available to researchers
from the Data Programs and Library Service of the University of Wisconsin, Madison (Herlihy
and Klapisch-Zuber, preface).
There are many interesting research questions. For instance, did Pacioli base his work on
this tax law or was accounting so well developed at the time that the 1427 tax was based on
accounting records? Was the 1427 tax on estimated taxable income, or a property tax? What
records of audits are extant? These are just some of the questions that could be the subject of
an accounting historical researcher's look at the data and previous commentaries.
A New Opportunity
Company Financial Reporting:
A Historical and Comparative Study of the Dutch Regulatory Process
Dr. Stephen A. Zeff recently announced, at a low price of $25, a reimpression of
Company Financial Reporting: A Historical and Comparative Study of the Dutch Regulatory
Process by Stephen A. Zeff, Frans van der Wel, and Kees Camfferman (Amsterdam: North-
Holland, 1992). This 400-page treatise originally sold for $100 per copy. The authors
acquirement of rights to issue a reimpression enables the offer of this historical work at
the cost of printing. If you are interested in purchasing this book, contact: Dr. Stephen
A. Zeff, Jesse H.Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University, P.O. Box 1892,
Houston, TX, 77251-1892. [Phone, 713-527-6066; Fax, 713-285-5251;
Email, sazeff@rice.edu]
16 The Accounting Historians Notebook, October, 1999
