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By modern standards, the Roman Empire offered few benefits to its citizens. The inhabitants of Rome enjoyed subsidized grain and free baths. The rest of the Empire received little more than the protections offered by the legions and Roman law. The taxes charged in return for these basic services were relatively low. That they were low, however, did not make them easy to pay. At first, the Roman tax system was little different from that of a Greek polis, where citizens typically had few financial obligations. In Sparta, for example, citizens were required only to supply the public mess halls. Lower and middle-income Athenians, likewise, paid no taxes.
Wealthy citizens, however, were responsible for the public programs known as liturgies, which ranged from training theatrical choruses to outfitting triremes. The rich also paid a special tax to support the troops in times of war. The early Roman Republic periodically levied a property tax on citizens to pay military expenses. Otherwise, it derived most of its revenue from the sale and rent of public lands and from indirect taxes, such as the 5% duty on freed slaves.
The vast influx of wealth brought by the conquest of the Hellenistic kingdoms allowed the Republic to end direct taxation of Roman citizens throughout Italy. In the newly conquered provinces, however, land and poll taxes were instituted. These were often collected by the private contractors known as publicani, who tended to maximize their profits at the provincials' expense. To stem these abuses and support his new standing army, Augustus reformed the tax system. The publicani were restricted to customs duties, and the elites of provincial cities were made responsible for collecting the taxes of their fellow citizens.
Among other new taxes, a duty of 4% was imposed on the sale of slaves and another of 5% on inheritances. Recurring censuses were established in the provinces to keep the tax rolls updated. Augustus made no attempt, however, to impose uniformity. Since the Romans tended to keep existing tax systems in place when they annexed the territory, they differed from province to province and even from city to city. In return for exceptional loyalty or services, some communities were granted freedom from taxation. Taxes could be paid in cash, in kind, or both, depending on local custom and the state's needs.
Cyrene paid in silphium, a plant prized as an aphrodisiac. The Frisians paid in oxhides. According to one ancient author, land taxes ranged from 1/7 to 1/5 of the crop and could be tariffed by a property type, with fertile farmland charged most and pasture least. The most relentlessly taxed province was Egypt. Between the ages of 14 and 60, all male Egyptians had to pay a poll tax. Even the dead were charged for the year of their demise. Farmers had to surrender a portion of their grain and were taxed separately for other crops and every variety of domestic animal.
Tradesmen were taxed on their wares. Additional taxes were levied to maintain canals and levees, to entertain officials, and to supply temples. During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, more than 40 different taxes, rents, and fees were collected in the modest Egyptian town of Karanis. To further complicate matters, provincial cities collected taxes of their own, primarily in the form of customs duties. Rates on inter-provincial trade were usually between 2% and 5%. Tariffs on goods from outside the empire, by contrast, were as high as 25%. Before we continue, a brief word about this video's sponsor. In America, April 15th is tax day.
But for the Romans, the 17th day before the Kalends of May was the festival of Fordicidia. I know this thanks to the Roman calendar agent built for me by the developers at Agent AI. Agent AI creates specialized tools to help you enhance your productivity in ways ranging from web design to customer research to copy editing. So follow the link in the description to check out my calendar and consider using Agent AI to make your own calendar a bit more manageable. Returning to our topic, in the wake of the financial crises of the 3rd century, Diocletian overhauled the Roman tax system.
The land and poll taxes were now assessed by standard units of area and population on a rate determined by the annual needs of the state. The practice of taking censuses was revived to keep assessments updated. To circumvent the persistent problem of inflation, most taxes were levied in kind. According to a recent estimate, the Roman tax rate was something like 5% of the empire's GDP, a level comparable to that of 18th century France.
Virtually all modern states derive a much higher percentage of their revenue from taxes and levy taxes at rates that would have horrified the Romans. The Romans, however, had a much harder time paying their taxes than we do. Most Romans were farmers living close to the subsistence level. In an average year, they produced enough to feed their families and a small surplus for taxes and other expenses. In a bad year, there would be a smaller surplus or none at all. Although tax systems in some parts of the empire, notably Egypt, took account of droughts and floods and emperors sometimes remitted the taxes of areas affected by natural disasters, tax
collectors were never known for their compassion. Even in a good year, the tax burden was regressive. The same rates were applied to rich and poor, falling with crushing weight on those with the least to spare. Tax collectors and financial officials were almost universally corrupt, demanding bribes or inflated payments that could double the amount due. The poor, lacking influential allies or the resources to resist these demands, had no choice but to pay. In Egypt, families often fled into the desert to escape.
The taxes paid by the rich, by contrast, were modest in relation to their means. At a time when the imperial peace offered opportunities for unprecedented prosperity, local elites became wealthier than ever before. In many places, spurred by a combination of political savvy and noblesse oblige, they poured their wealth into public buildings. The monumental cityscapes they created, from Londinium to Ephesus, are the most durable legacy of the inefficient, inequitable, inescapable tax system of the Roman Empire. You know what else is inescapable? Plugs for my upcoming trips to Italy and Eastern Turkey. Sign up now before it's too late.
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