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W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…

Mithridates the Great ruled a small country near what is currently known as Turkey. He had an extraordinary power to arouse discontent with disgruntled taxpayers. In 88 BC he led a rebellion fighting Roman rule. By promising 5 years of tax immunity to each city that followed his rebellion, he gathered considerable help.

The Roman Senate quickly took swift action and told General Sulla to raise an army and restore Roman rule in the east. Sulla succeeded in suppressing the rebels after a four year struggle. When the rebellion was crushed, Sulla told the leading citizens of the revolting cities to meet him at Ephesus. At Ephesus the citizens were to denounce the five years of back taxes plus compensate the general for his war debt.

To enforce this tax, Sulla established “special agents.” These special agents had the power to scourge and behead, which was enough to cause most taxpayers fall in line. Until this period there were self-assessment tax collections, corporate tax collecting, army tax collectors and regular government tax collectors. However, these newly instituted “special agents” were very skillful specialists with the arrogance of bureaucrats and the power of military executioners. Taxpayers lost any hope to evade. If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a Tax Preparer in Cary, NC for all your tax-related needs!

Special Agents have emerged time and again in the course of history, surviving in the modern age as “fiscal police” or just “special agents”, using the title first given by Sulla over two thousand years ago. As the use of the general’s special agents was instituted in neighboring nations, the army came to understand that the rich spoils of war came from their commander, not the Roman Senate. Roman generals returned to Rome with the blind loyalty of their soldiers. Huge civil wars started as rivalling legions slaughtered each other. With these moderately private armies, establishment of a military dictator was inevitable. So, the Roman Republic died. Royalty, dictators, and military strategists would now run the Roman Empire for the next two thousand years. Democracies and republics would not play a dominant role in civilization again until the 1800s. Go here if you want help with modern-day Tax Preparation in Raleigh, NC.

Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and the American Revolution.

http://www.marccpa.com/

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…

Finally moving away from the Greeks, we now are at the Roman Empire. Historians often refer to Roman taxation as “more or less organized stealing” and Roman tax men as “a band of thieves.” But Roman taxation wasn’t always corrupt. There was a 200-year period at the zenith of the Roman Empire when taxes were moderate. Actually, every kind of tax, as well as no taxes, marked the Roman period. Taxes were as necessary yet as unpredictable in the Roman Empire as were the legions, the Senate and the Caesars. The arguably insane emperor Nero once advised to get rid of every indirect tax and create a “wonderful present to the human race.” If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a Tax Preparer in Cary, NC for all your tax-related needs!

The Roman Republic – The Early Years

The early Roman Republic required little taxation because it operated with free labor. The army, which is arguably the most expensive operation in every society, was a citizen’s army, comprised of land-owners who served for one year without pay. They even brought their own uniforms and gear. This level of volunteer free public service extended to most government offices. Even the judges worked for the city without pay. It is difficult to understand the importance of this ancient practice, especially in our age, when no one seems willing to lift a finger for the government without a fat paycheck. Go here if you want help with modern-day Tax Preparation in Cary, NC.

The ideal way to reduce heavy taxation is to instil in all citizens a spirit of unselfish service for the public good. It is not necessary to curtail public programs and services; what is needed is the curtailment of the spirit of gain and profit that infests public figures and contractors.

The Romans, similar to other ancient civilizations, used the great people of their society to deal with taxation. Taxpayers loved and admired these men, and no doubt the integrity of these great men rubbed off on the taxpayers. By contrast, modern tax systems use professional public relations contractors to manipulate taxpayers with advertising campaigns that utilize fear more than integrity. Trouble started, however, when Roman armies lived off of the people and took tribute in block form called “stipendium”.

Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and the American Revolution.

http://www.marccpa.com/

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…

Ancient Egypt was not a land of terrible taskmasters and oppressed slavery – that’s simply the impression we get from the story of Exodus, which came at a time of turmoil in Egypt. Modern translations of Egyptian language tell a tale of life in ancient Egypt was usually bountiful and relatively at peace. The land was rich, women and men had roughly equal rights and life was good for most. But, there were tax collectors, as numerous as “the sands of the seas”. The high level of Egyptian life was maintained by these “scribes” whose job was enforcing the pharaoh’s tax mandates. Most all aspects of life were taxed – sales, slaves, foreign people, imports, exports, and businesses. Agriculture was taxed at a hefty 20%. There was also a tax on cooking oil and inspectors would make continuous visits to kitchens to ensure that free drippings were not being wasted instead of the taxed oil.

The word “freedom” ironically in ancient Egypt referred not to one’s political or social liberty but to a person’s tax level. If you were “free,” it meant that you were exempt from taxation. Ironically, the word can’t be found anywhere in the Egyptian language. Good thing we live in this time eh? Go here if you want help with modern-day Tax Preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll in Cary NC.

However, the scribes were never brutal (at least in theory). They were taught to act kindly to the poor and defenseless. One ancient text instructs: “if a poor farmer is in trouble with his taxations, cut two-thirds of them.”

Another text encourages officials to “cheer up everyone and to direct them into a good mood.”

And, if someone is suffering under pressures of their taxes, or is at the end of his means to pay them, you must let the case go unchecked.” If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a Raleigh NC Accountant for all your tax-related needs!

This lenient policy was called “philanthropa”. From this word we get the word philandthropy.

Over the 3000 years of the Egyptian empire, there were many periods of humane and decent tax administration.

Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and the Greeks. http://www.marccpa.com/