Beware the Ides of April. Tax day is nearly upon us. If you haven’t already fired up
the Turbo Tax software, then you have some homework to do this week. While
you’re slogging through numerous forms more complicated than quantum physics,
take heart, our tax system is much better, and far more forgiving than the
ancient methods. Today, I’m going to
give a very quick and dirty history of ancient civilization and medieval English
taxation.
If you were living in the ancient world, you would be
squeezed not by Rome or Thebes directly but by “tax-farmers”. Men who’d bid to
obtain the office and whose job it was to make you pay. These men were loathed
across the ancient world because if they came up short, they were required to
make up the difference themselves. Since they were not usually from the ruling
classes, they didn’t have the social clout to make the rich pay. As a result, they
tended to squeeze every last denarii out of the middle class and the poor.
Later in the empire, the office of tax collector became hereditary, so some
people were bound by birth to be the most unpopular person on the block. When
the Roman Empire finally collapsed in 480 AD, the knowledge, learning and
complex civil service of Rome disappeared, but taxes remained.
Under the Anglo-Saxons, land was taxed and the proceeds paid
to the king. When the Vikings showed up, the money was used to either fight
them or pay them to go away (the “Danegeld”).
Once the Normans arrived, William the Conqueror instructed his men to
find out what everyone owned and how much they owed him. Thus, the famous, or
should I say infamous, Domesday Book was compiled. Landowners were taxed based
on how much land they held, but, if they were friends with the king, the king
could grant them exemptions. As time went by, too many exemptions meant too
little tax money, and the monarch started getting testy. The testiest monarch
was King John, but his nobles weren’t having it. They rose up and forced him to
sign the Magna Carta which forced the king to get permission from the nobles
before he could raise taxes.
So, when you’re filling out your 1040 this week, be
thankful the Vikings aren’t at your door, King John isn’t seizing your land,
and you weren’t born into a tax collecting family in ancient Rome.
If you liked this post you must like history. There's a lot of history in my books so you'll love them www.georgie-lee.com
7 comments:
Thanks for sharing this history of taxes with #SocialButterflySunday! Hope to see you link up again this week :)
Wonderfully written. I still wish I didn't have to pay taxes, though! Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party this week!
I always appreciate your history lessons! Thanks so much for linking up this post at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com this week!
Tina
Thanks for sharing this interesting info on taxes with us at Cooking and Crafting with J & J! :)
I just filed my taxes this year. Thanks for sharing this interesting history at Mom-to-Mom Mondays.
What a great post!
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
This was super interesting! I love that bottom cartoon too :D
Thanks so much for sharing at #FridayFrivolity
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