The institution of the pacht or pacht-stelsel (revenue farm, pl. pachten) was a system of tax farming in the Dutch Republic and its colonial empire. In this system tax is not collected by the government, but by a private individual who has leased the right to collect the tax. In the Dutch Republic, for example, this was common practise for a long time, especially for indirect taxes. Each year, the highest bidder acquired the right to collect certain taxes; he paid a rent for this to the government, and all he collected more was for the tax tenant himself. The rationale behind this system was that by outsourcing taxation, local governments could exert less influence on collection. Also, a tenant would collect taxes more scrupulously, because it would personally benefit him.[1]
In practice, however, there was much dissatisfaction with the tax tenants, especially among the common man. After the Pachtersoproer of 1748, the system was largely abolished in the Republic. From then on, the tax was collected through the so-called Collecte, which meant that the government appointed and controlled tax collectors.[2]