There is a passage in Neal Stephenson’s Quicksilver where a noble describes the absurd cost of moving timber across France to shipyards. Each petty aristocrat

There is a passage in Neal Stephenson’s Quicksilver where a noble describes the absurd cost of moving timber across France to shipyards. Each petty aristocrat along the route levies a percentage tax on the shipment; the result is that a shipment must always be greater than 100% of itself because that is the effective net tax rate.