Why did tax reform become very difficult under the Old Regime?

Because privileged groups defended their tax exemptions

Option B is correct because tax reform threatened the material interests of the privileged estates. The clergy and nobility enjoyed important exemptions and did not want the monarchy to make them contribute like the Third Estate. Since the state faced debt and needed more revenue, a fairer system would have required privileges to be reduced or removed. Those who benefited from the old arrangement could use their social influence and political position to resist such changes. Option A is inaccurate because many peasants did possess or cultivate land, although their obligations were heavy. C does not address privilege or state finance, and D is false because rights were unequal. The governing concept is institutional resistance to reform.

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