A History of Taxes - Part 1
Taxes and Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was not a land of cruel taskmasters andoppressed slaves - that's the impression we get from the story of Moses - which came at a time of unrest in Egypt.
Modern translations of hieroglyphics indicate that life in ancient Egypt was usually bountiful and peaceful.
The land was rich, men and women were equal and life was enjoyed.
Now there were tax collectors - as numerous as "the sands of the seas".
The order in Egyptian life was maintained by these scribes who were charged with enforcing the pharoah's tax policies.
Most everything was taxed - sales, slaves, foreigners, imports, exports, businesses.
Agriculture was taxed at a hefty 20%.
There was even a tax on cooking oil and inspectors would make regular visits to kitchens to ensure that free drippings were not being used instead of the taxed oil.
As an aside, the word "freedom" in the ancient times referred not to one's political/social liberty but to one's tax status.
If you were "free" you paid no taxes.
Interestingly, the word is not found anywhere in the Egyptian language.
However, the scribes were not brutal.
They were taught to act kindly towards the poor and defenseless.
One ancient text instructs "if a poor farmer is in arrears with his taxes, remit 2/3 of them.
" Another text admonishes officials to "cheer up everyone and to put them in good humor.
" And, if anyone is suffering under pressures of taxation, or is at the end of his means, you must let the case go unchecked.
" This policy was called "philanthropa".
From that we get the word philanthropy.
Over the 3000 years of the Egyptian empire, there were times of humane and decent tax administration.
Taxes and Greeks The Greeks had two systems of taxation.
One was liturgy where wealthy citizens unselfishly contributed more to the government than they were required to.
The other system was "tax-farming" which had a long and colorful history.
Tax farmers were private contractors who bid at public auction for the right to collect a certain tax, such as a harbor tax, an inn tax, or a sales tax.
With accurate records from prior years, and barring some calamity, the amount of tax revenue expected could be accurately calculated.
The business was risky, but appears to have been profitable.
In the city-states, tax farming proved superior to government tax administration.
The private man did a better and more economical job of collecting taxes.
The right to collect taxes is an extreme delegation of sovereign power.
But since taxes were low in Greek democracies, tax farming was not a major enterprise.
To the Greeks, it was simply an economical way to collect taxes in a system in which tax evasion was not worth the trouble.
The most serious abuses of the system came from the tax farmers.
The modest system of tax farming, originally set up by the city-states contrasted strongly with the system of the later Greeks in the third to first century B.
C.
We see accounts of how the world groaned under the terrible oppression of the tax farmers.
And this was before the Romans got hold of it! The Greek democrats who developed tax farming would have been astounded to learn that in a few hundred years their simple private collection system would evolve in to a monster of oppression.
They would have been even more astounded, perhaps, to learn that tax farming flourished in Western civilization, in many bizarre forms, for 2,500 years, finally going out of style in the early 1900's.
Greeks were giants in the ancient world and had an interesting view of taxes and government.
The Greeks said that the liberty and freedom of a society was best measured by its tax system.
We, 2,500 years later, are less profound in our analysis of taxation.
We seem to accept any tax adopted by our legislators.
We let class politics create tax laws.
And we let legislators tax just about any thing they please in any form they desire.
Overall, the bright spot in the Greek story was in their administration of tax.
Tax revenue was assessed and administered by the taxpayers themselves, without the intervention of a massive government bureau.
Even more important was the response of the rich to the needs of the community.
They shared their wealth with the community and did not hesitate to see that the city and its people benefited from the bounties bestowed on them.
The Greek view was simple - taxes are tyrannical, and hence illegal, if they are demanded by arrogance and compulsion.
They are justifiable when based on reasonableness and loving care.
We have retreated a great distance from those lofty ideas.
Taxes and The Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone was unearthed by Napoleon, and was perhaps the most important Egyptian archaeological discovery in history.
The Stone had the same writing in 3 different languages: Hieroglyphics, demotic (Egyptian script) and Greek.
Using the Greek translation, we were able to decipher the demotic and then the hieroglyphs.
But the question remains: Egyptians had paper, called papyrus, so why was the writing carved into stone? Also, why 3 languages? And why Greek? The Stone has been around since 3000+ BC.
The Rosetta Stone was carved around 200BC during the reign of Ptolemy V (a king of Greek origin).
So what happened to the Pharaohs? By this time, Egypt had been conquered in 700 BC by the Assyrians, then the Persians, and finally the Greeks in 330 BC.
After existing for 2000+ years, Egypt was in decline.
The Ptolmey's were by and large good kings, but around 200BC, when the Rosetta stone was carved, Egypt had just concluded a decade long civil war.
The civil war broke out over excessive and oppressive taxes strengthened by tough Greek tax collectors.
As the was ended there was still much unrest.
Ptolemy V issued a Proclamation of Peace which granted general amnesty for all rebels and tax debtors, eased tax laws, eliminated forced conscription into the navy, and restored tax immunity to the priests and temples and their crops and lands as it had been in the days of the great pharaohs.
This was a great advantage and financial windfall for the priests and temples and they wanted to make sure first everyone knew it and, second, did not want it taken away again at some point in the future.
As a result, "Rosetta Stones" were carved and placed in front of each temple throughout Egypt.
The Rosetta stones proclaimed to all that tax immunity had been granted to the priests and this temple and acted as a "Do Not Enter" sign to curtail the lawlessness of the king's tax men.
This still begs the question: why written in stone? The answer is because the priests wanted to make sure it wouldn't disappear or able to be easily destroyed.
Another question was why was it written in 3 languages? The Stone was written in 3 languages so that all may read and heed the message the priests wanted to spread to all of Egypt.
It was written in Greek to be especially clear to the king's tax men that they could not even set foot inside the temple gates.
So, the most important Egyptian archaeological find ever; the stone that unraveled the mysterious language of the Egyptians, the stone that enabled us to discover the secrets of hieroglyphic writing and thereby the key to unlocking the history and understanding of the Egyptian empire for 3000 years, was, in fact, a tax document.
Taxes and The Colussus of Rhodes The island of Rhodes - gateway to Rome and Greece.
All shipping from the east stopped for supplies or to transfer cargo at Rhodes.
The harbor of Rhodes, like every other harbor, had a tax - 2%.
Rhodes prospered and flourished, banking and commerce especially.
The businessmen erected a 100 foot bronze colussus of Apollo at the entrance to the harbor.
It became known to us as one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world (whether it actually straddled the harbor entrance is unknown).
Things were fine until 225 BC.
An earthquake toppled the colossus and not much more is heard from Rhodes after that.
Did the earthquake wipe them out? Ruin the harbor? Well, here's the rest of the story.
The Roman Senate was angered at Rhodes because during the recent Rome-Macedonia War, Rhodes had declared neutrality.
After taking so much from Rome for so many years, Rome expected more.
They wanted Rhodes to take their side and contribute to the war effort.
So, after the war, the Romans made their move.
They established a tax-free port on the nearby Isle of Delos.
There was no 2% harbor tax! In the first year, trade declined 85% in Rhodes.
Rhodes was ruined.
Did the earthquake do it? No, Rhodes had actually rebuilt after the earthquake (although they didn't replace the colossus).
What brought Rhodes down was no earthquake or natural disaster or war or famine.
It was Roman tax policy.
All to avoid a 2% tax.
The Switzerland of the ancient world, the commercial giant of the east was brought down because people wanted to avoid a 2% tax.
Modern translations of hieroglyphics indicate that life in ancient Egypt was usually bountiful and peaceful.
The land was rich, men and women were equal and life was enjoyed.
Now there were tax collectors - as numerous as "the sands of the seas".
The order in Egyptian life was maintained by these scribes who were charged with enforcing the pharoah's tax policies.
Most everything was taxed - sales, slaves, foreigners, imports, exports, businesses.
Agriculture was taxed at a hefty 20%.
There was even a tax on cooking oil and inspectors would make regular visits to kitchens to ensure that free drippings were not being used instead of the taxed oil.
As an aside, the word "freedom" in the ancient times referred not to one's political/social liberty but to one's tax status.
If you were "free" you paid no taxes.
Interestingly, the word is not found anywhere in the Egyptian language.
However, the scribes were not brutal.
They were taught to act kindly towards the poor and defenseless.
One ancient text instructs "if a poor farmer is in arrears with his taxes, remit 2/3 of them.
" Another text admonishes officials to "cheer up everyone and to put them in good humor.
" And, if anyone is suffering under pressures of taxation, or is at the end of his means, you must let the case go unchecked.
" This policy was called "philanthropa".
From that we get the word philanthropy.
Over the 3000 years of the Egyptian empire, there were times of humane and decent tax administration.
Taxes and Greeks The Greeks had two systems of taxation.
One was liturgy where wealthy citizens unselfishly contributed more to the government than they were required to.
The other system was "tax-farming" which had a long and colorful history.
Tax farmers were private contractors who bid at public auction for the right to collect a certain tax, such as a harbor tax, an inn tax, or a sales tax.
With accurate records from prior years, and barring some calamity, the amount of tax revenue expected could be accurately calculated.
The business was risky, but appears to have been profitable.
In the city-states, tax farming proved superior to government tax administration.
The private man did a better and more economical job of collecting taxes.
The right to collect taxes is an extreme delegation of sovereign power.
But since taxes were low in Greek democracies, tax farming was not a major enterprise.
To the Greeks, it was simply an economical way to collect taxes in a system in which tax evasion was not worth the trouble.
The most serious abuses of the system came from the tax farmers.
The modest system of tax farming, originally set up by the city-states contrasted strongly with the system of the later Greeks in the third to first century B.
C.
We see accounts of how the world groaned under the terrible oppression of the tax farmers.
And this was before the Romans got hold of it! The Greek democrats who developed tax farming would have been astounded to learn that in a few hundred years their simple private collection system would evolve in to a monster of oppression.
They would have been even more astounded, perhaps, to learn that tax farming flourished in Western civilization, in many bizarre forms, for 2,500 years, finally going out of style in the early 1900's.
Greeks were giants in the ancient world and had an interesting view of taxes and government.
The Greeks said that the liberty and freedom of a society was best measured by its tax system.
We, 2,500 years later, are less profound in our analysis of taxation.
We seem to accept any tax adopted by our legislators.
We let class politics create tax laws.
And we let legislators tax just about any thing they please in any form they desire.
Overall, the bright spot in the Greek story was in their administration of tax.
Tax revenue was assessed and administered by the taxpayers themselves, without the intervention of a massive government bureau.
Even more important was the response of the rich to the needs of the community.
They shared their wealth with the community and did not hesitate to see that the city and its people benefited from the bounties bestowed on them.
The Greek view was simple - taxes are tyrannical, and hence illegal, if they are demanded by arrogance and compulsion.
They are justifiable when based on reasonableness and loving care.
We have retreated a great distance from those lofty ideas.
Taxes and The Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone was unearthed by Napoleon, and was perhaps the most important Egyptian archaeological discovery in history.
The Stone had the same writing in 3 different languages: Hieroglyphics, demotic (Egyptian script) and Greek.
Using the Greek translation, we were able to decipher the demotic and then the hieroglyphs.
But the question remains: Egyptians had paper, called papyrus, so why was the writing carved into stone? Also, why 3 languages? And why Greek? The Stone has been around since 3000+ BC.
The Rosetta Stone was carved around 200BC during the reign of Ptolemy V (a king of Greek origin).
So what happened to the Pharaohs? By this time, Egypt had been conquered in 700 BC by the Assyrians, then the Persians, and finally the Greeks in 330 BC.
After existing for 2000+ years, Egypt was in decline.
The Ptolmey's were by and large good kings, but around 200BC, when the Rosetta stone was carved, Egypt had just concluded a decade long civil war.
The civil war broke out over excessive and oppressive taxes strengthened by tough Greek tax collectors.
As the was ended there was still much unrest.
Ptolemy V issued a Proclamation of Peace which granted general amnesty for all rebels and tax debtors, eased tax laws, eliminated forced conscription into the navy, and restored tax immunity to the priests and temples and their crops and lands as it had been in the days of the great pharaohs.
This was a great advantage and financial windfall for the priests and temples and they wanted to make sure first everyone knew it and, second, did not want it taken away again at some point in the future.
As a result, "Rosetta Stones" were carved and placed in front of each temple throughout Egypt.
The Rosetta stones proclaimed to all that tax immunity had been granted to the priests and this temple and acted as a "Do Not Enter" sign to curtail the lawlessness of the king's tax men.
This still begs the question: why written in stone? The answer is because the priests wanted to make sure it wouldn't disappear or able to be easily destroyed.
Another question was why was it written in 3 languages? The Stone was written in 3 languages so that all may read and heed the message the priests wanted to spread to all of Egypt.
It was written in Greek to be especially clear to the king's tax men that they could not even set foot inside the temple gates.
So, the most important Egyptian archaeological find ever; the stone that unraveled the mysterious language of the Egyptians, the stone that enabled us to discover the secrets of hieroglyphic writing and thereby the key to unlocking the history and understanding of the Egyptian empire for 3000 years, was, in fact, a tax document.
Taxes and The Colussus of Rhodes The island of Rhodes - gateway to Rome and Greece.
All shipping from the east stopped for supplies or to transfer cargo at Rhodes.
The harbor of Rhodes, like every other harbor, had a tax - 2%.
Rhodes prospered and flourished, banking and commerce especially.
The businessmen erected a 100 foot bronze colussus of Apollo at the entrance to the harbor.
It became known to us as one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world (whether it actually straddled the harbor entrance is unknown).
Things were fine until 225 BC.
An earthquake toppled the colossus and not much more is heard from Rhodes after that.
Did the earthquake wipe them out? Ruin the harbor? Well, here's the rest of the story.
The Roman Senate was angered at Rhodes because during the recent Rome-Macedonia War, Rhodes had declared neutrality.
After taking so much from Rome for so many years, Rome expected more.
They wanted Rhodes to take their side and contribute to the war effort.
So, after the war, the Romans made their move.
They established a tax-free port on the nearby Isle of Delos.
There was no 2% harbor tax! In the first year, trade declined 85% in Rhodes.
Rhodes was ruined.
Did the earthquake do it? No, Rhodes had actually rebuilt after the earthquake (although they didn't replace the colossus).
What brought Rhodes down was no earthquake or natural disaster or war or famine.
It was Roman tax policy.
All to avoid a 2% tax.
The Switzerland of the ancient world, the commercial giant of the east was brought down because people wanted to avoid a 2% tax.
