鹽是生活必需品，中國歷代政府對食鹽都以專賣或重稅為手段，徵收鹽稅，成為政府重要財源。欲達到稅收穩定之目的，就必須控制食鹽的產銷。十七世紀，明代政府限定某一地區生產的鹽，只能在特定區域銷售，保障了鹽商的特權，導致生產成本低廉的鹽，銷售到人民手上時，變得十分昂貴，也由於生產價格和銷售價格間差距太大，引發人民走私，官吏營私，弊端百出，鹽務敗壞。 民國成立，有識之士對不合理的食鹽產銷提出了改革的主張，因為政局不安，既得利益者的反對，未能實行。民國二年，中國政府向英、法、德、俄、日五國借款，在善後大借款（Reorganization Loan ）合同中規定：中國政府應聘請外人協助整頓鹽稅。 中國政府於民國二年（1913）六月聘請曾在印度管理鹽政的丁恩（Sir Richard Dane）負責徵收鹽稅，改良鹽務。丁恩任職期間（1913-1918），以其對食鹽問題改革趨勢的瞭解，運用西方管理的制度，挾銀行團之力，訂定法規，建立制度，整頓鹽場，裁併機關，統一稅率，實行就場徵稅，踏出了中國鹽務改革的第一步。鹽稅收入明顯增加，地方截留鹽稅情形不再，績效卓著，對中國鹽務改革貢獻良多。

Salt is a necessity in daily life. The tax of salt is a very important financial resource to Chinese government. Therefore, each dynasty always claimed to have a monopoly on salt and set heavy tax on salt. For the purpose of securing tax income on salt, it is necessary to control the production and distribution of salt. In Ming dynasty salt became an expensive necessity because of the corruption of salt affair. In modern China, there were many suggestion of reform on salt affair. In 1913, based on the agreement of Reorganization Loan, Chinese government had to hire foreign expertise in helping tax reform on salt. In June of 1913, Sir Richard Dane was designated to inspector of the Sino-foreign inspectorate and he took charge of collecting tax on salt. Sir Richard Dane had been administer of salt affair in India for sever year before he came to China. During his term of inspector (1913-1918), Dane took advantage of his knowledge of salt affair and support from the banking consortium; he did a great successful on the reform of Chinese salt affair. His achievement were: institutionalization of salt affair, setting up regulations, regulating salt field, unionization of tax rate and etc.. Consequently, the income of tax on salt increased evidently because the local government could not keep tax on salt any more.