Interesting discussion. Part of the financial problem between England and Parliament vis-à-vis the continental states and their Estates was the way the countries developed. From the early middle ages, if not by the Magna carta England was basically a unitary state; there was no collection of Duchies and other territories nominally united under a weak monarchy but instead one of the few states to retain/emerge as a strong state in the post Roman world. While this was in many ways a good thing in terms of finances it could and did become difficult, especially compared to say France. Because of the way France developed, with each of the major Peerages being inherited or conquered by the King, they could be counted as parts of the French Crown Estate. The King could raise funds in the various Duchies without the need to gain assent from the local notables and even if he needed to negotiate with the assemblies of each one, like Toulouse or Burgundy, instead of with the representatives of the entire Kingdom. The same could be said of states like Spain or the unified low countries, though the later would necessarily call it a gift. In England there was no way to play one assembly off the other, just one Estates of the Realm. In my opinion at least.