Fiscal modernization. The tax on the consumption of alcoholic beverages in Peru, 1887-1898

Abstract

This article analyzes the characteristics, trajectory and changes of the tax on alcohol consumption in Peru between 1887 and 1898. By using primary sources such as laws, reports and parliamentary debates, the paper studies the discourses and ideas that shaped this tax’s objectives during this period. The hypothesis holds that the strategies to obtain a considerable income from this tax focused on the innovation of the collection scheme, which accounted for a process of fiscal modernization aimed at the strengthening of the central state.