Stealth Taxes
  
Very British thing to do...you know, after the Tea Party and all.
It's a tax that's barely noticed. Somehow, it's bundled into other things, or it's a teeny tiny amount...but on 18 things, so you don't notice that the total of all those teeny amounts is a lot.
The King had to make money somehow, so he got good at this stealth thing and passed on the knowledge to the rest of the world's governments. Thanks a lot.