Gabelle

Gabelle (derived through Low Lat. gabulum from the Old Ger. gifan or Gothic giban, 'to give'), in France a word sometimes used in a general way to designate every kind of indirect tax, but more especially the tax upon salt. This impost, first levied in 1286, in the reign of Philippe IV., was meant to be only temporary, but was declared perpetual by Charles V. It varied in the different provinces. It was unpopular from the very first, and the attempt to collect it occasioned frequent disturbances. It was finally suppressed in 1789. The word also indicated the magazine in which salt was stored. The name gabelou is still given by the common people in France to custom-house officers and tax-gatherers.