If a peasant paid both tithe and taille what would be the correct explanation?

He was under both Church and state tax burdens

The two taxes mentioned had different sources and purposes. Tithe was a payment associated with the Church, generally collected from the agricultural produce of peasants. Taille was a direct tax imposed by the state. A peasant who paid both was therefore facing obligations to two different institutions. This shows how the Third Estate carried a large share of the financial burden in the old French social order.

Option B correctly explains the situation as both Church and state tax burdens. Option A is wrong because these payments did not both go only to nobles. Option C reverses the truth: the peasantry was not tax-free. Option D is also incorrect because peasants belonged mainly to the Third Estate, not the First Estate. The distinction between tithe and taille is essential.

This is a Class 9 History question. Chapter: The French Revolution. Topic: French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century.