collecting salt, thus forcing them to purchase the highly taxed salt from British rulers 1930 – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led the Salt March, part of the Indian independence movement, in protest of the unfair salt tax 1945 – The Gabelle was abolished following France's liberation from Nazi Germany 1947 – India gains independence from the British Empire as a result of the Indian independence movement. 1974 – in Italy the salt tax was abolished. Implications of salt tax The implications of the salt tax were both positive and negative. Salt tax was highly profitable for governments and increased the living standards within many countries. The salt tax was also influential upon historic political events including the Salt March in 1930 and the French revolution in 1790. The revenue from the salt tax allowed some governments to increase living standards, the Chinese government for example used the revenue from salt tax to fund the building of the Great Wall of China. As a result of the salt tax, the price of salt skyrocketed, subsequently meaning many individuals were unable to afford salt. Salt plays a large role in the human diet and salt starvation is a serious health issue which can result in vomiting, coma and death. Many believe that populations revolted against the salt tax through the French revolution and the Salt March as a result of the deaths associated with the lack of salt and high level of social disruption the tax caused. The Moscow Uprising and the Salt Tax Revolt had the highest death tolls and caused the most significant social disruption, however these salt taxations were quickly removed as a result. Impacted regions India Today, India is one of the leading producers of salt in the world, coming in third behind the US and China. However, the British implementation of the salt tax in India was one of the highest of its kind. In 1835, the British East India Company implemented the first taxation of salt in India, the British East India Company was taken over by the crown in 1858 as a result of the plentiful revenue. Due to India's large population, not everyone was able to afford salt thus often resulting in salt deprivation, many Indians died as a result of the expensive salt taxation, this and other surrounding political problems influenced the Salt March in 1930. The Salt March lead by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi