A History of Taxation Practices, Chapter Six: Taxation and The End of the Roman Empire
27th November 2009 by Tax Man No CommentsW. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Mithridates the Great ruled a tiny nation near what is now Turkey. He had an amazing power to rouse discontent among unhappy taxpayers. In 88 BC he organized a civil war fighting the Romans. By granting five years of tax immunity to every city that joined his rebellion, he gathered considerable support.
The Roman Senate sprang into action and told General Sulla to muster an army and restore Roman rule in the rebellious area. Sulla succeeded in squelching the rebels, but only following a 4-year struggle. When the rebellion was crushed, Sulla ordered 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 and pay the general for the cost of the war.
To make sure the tax was collected, Sulla instituted “special agents.” These special agents had the ability to scourge and kill, which was plenty to cause any taxpayer cooperative. Up until this time there were self-assessment tax collections, private tax collecting, army tax collectors and the traditional government tax collectors. However, these newly instituted “special agents” were highly skilled specialized men with the ignorance 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 past, surviving in modern times as “financial police” or just “special agents”, given the name first instituted by Sulla over two thousand years ago. As the practice of Sulla’s special agents was instituted in neighboring nations, the army came to understand that the rich spoils of war came from their general, not the Roman Senate. Roman generals came back to Rome with the unwavering loyalty of their soldiers. Huge civil wars started as rival armies slaughtered each other. With these semiprivate armies, the institution of a military dictator was inescapable. So, the Roman Republic dissolved. Royalty, dictators, and generals would now rule for the next 2000 years. Democratically designed governments and republics wouldn’t see a large role in civilization again until the 1800s. Go here if you want help with modern-day Tax Preparation in Cary, 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/
