Daylight Robbery: How Tax Shaped Our Past and Will Change Our Future

Dominic Frisby

Oct 2019 · Penguin Business · Narrated by Dominic Frisby

About this audiobook

'Fuel for the post-Christmas lunch argument' Financial Times

Death and taxes are our inevitable fate. We've been told this since the beginning of civilisation. But what if we stopped to question our antiquated system? Is it fair? And is it capable of serving the needs of our rapidly-changing, modern society?

In Daylight Robbery, Dominic Frisby traces the origins of taxation, from its roots in the ancient world, through to today. He explores the role of tax in the formation of our global religions, the part tax played in wars and revolutions throughout the ages, why, at one stage, we paid tax for daylight or for growing a beard. Ranging from the despotic to the absurd, the tax laws of the past reveal so much about how we got to where we are today and what we can do to build a system fit for the future.

'This entertaining, surprising, contrarian book is a tour de force!' - Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything

'In this spectacular gallop through history, Frisby shows how taxation has warped, stunted and thwarted human progress' - Mark Littlewood, Director General, Institute of Economic Affairs

'Against all expectations, Dominic's book on tax is a real page-turner. His historical interpretation and utopian ideas will outrage Left and Right. Both should read the book' - Steve Baker, MP for Wycombe and Member of the House of Commons Treasury Committee

'Fascinating book which exposes the political and economic basis of tax. A must read for those of us who believe in simpler, lower taxes' - Rt Hon Liz Truss, MP for South West Norfolk, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade

'Both amusing and informative, it's a romp' - Bill Bonner, author of Empire of Debt

Ratings and reviews

I was initially undecided whether to buy this audiobook, but having taken the plunge am so glad I did. I actually got to the end and started again straight away coz I thought I'd maybe missed stuff. It's packed full of though provoking facts and presents an oddly quirky, yet totally believable forecast of where we may indeed be heading as a culture. This book is perhaps even more profetic in light of Covid as big government struggles to get seize power. As an aside, the author is also a comic, and this comes across in the writing style. You frequently find yourself sniggering as his story unfolds. All in all great value, highly recommended.

About the author

Dominic Frisby (Author, Reader)
Dominic Frisby is perhaps the world’s only financial writer and comedian. He writes a weekly investment column for Moneyweek about gold. He has also written for publications including the Guardian and the Independent. His one man show, Let’s Talk About Tax was a hit at the Edinburg Fringe Festival and was turned into a book, Daylight Robbery, published by Penguin Business. He has hosted two financial comedy shows for BBC Radio 4, More Money than Sense with Andy Zatzman, Shazia Mirza and Paul Sinha and Damned Lies with Sir David Spiegelhalter. His substack, The Flying Frisby, has 10,000 subscribers, is one of the UK’s most popular financial Substacks.