Law of the Eighth, Fourth, Subsidy and Increase
In France, under the Ancien Régime, the Eighth, Fourth, Subsidy and Increase are rights of aid for the benefit of the King. The fourth is a quarter of the retail price. In 1465, it is reduced by half except in Normandy and in the generality of Amiens where the fourth is maintained. The eighth then applies in several provinces: Generalities of Bourges, Chalons, La Rochelle, Limoges, Lyons, Moulins, Orleans, Paris, Poitiers, Soissons, Tours, cities and suburbs of Amiens, Abbeville, Auxerre. The eighth was no longer, as originally, the eighth of the value of drinks. It had been settled, that is, tariffed. The subsidy was added in 1640, followed by a quarter increase in 1657, except in Lyonnais, Macon, and Upper Burgundy. The total fourth, eighth, subsidy and increase is about 8 pounds per muid of wine if the debitant provides at the same time a meal and 6 pounds 15 sols in the opposite case. The cider is taxed at half the wine and the perry at the quarter.