The world history of taxes

Egyptian taxes

The first known tax system was in ancient Egypt. The pharaoh would collect taxes twice a year from the Egyptians. One of the most frequently taxed items in the ancient world was cooking oil, which was actually taxed throughout Egyptian history due to scarcity. Egyptian taxes eventually became so well known that they were even mentioned in the Bible, “when the harvest comes, give a fifth to Pharaoh.”

Athens, Greece

For the Athenians in Greece, warfare was a way of life, and an expensive one at that. As such, the Athenians taxed their citizens for the costs of the war with a tax they called the “eisphora”. The most historic factor in this tax was that it exempted no one, which is considered by many to be the first democratic tax system, since after wars the money was often returned to the people. There is also some documentation of a tax imposed on foreigners (or any individual without an Athenian mother and father), called a “metoikion”.

Salt tax in India

Salt has been taxed in India for centuries. However, in 1835, the British East India Company dramatically raised import taxes after they began to assert dominance over the Indian provinces. The salt tax was raised and lowered by multiple leaders and events, and was not repealed until 1946.

Rome and Caesar

Taxes called “portoria” were first levied in Rome on imports and exports to the city. Caesar Augustus, who is now considered a brilliant tax strategist of his time, gave individual cities the job of collecting taxes. He also raised the tax on slave sales from 1% to 4% and created a tax to raise retirement funds for soldiers in the army.

Britain

The occupation of the Roman Empire may have ignited the flame of the first taxes in England. During the 11th century, Lady Godiva’s husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia, said that he would lower taxes if she rode naked through the streets on horseback. Lady Godiva made the now famous ride and lowered taxes for her people.

the french revolution

Before the French Revolution, civil unrest fell largely on the shoulders of high taxes for the lower classes. While clergy and nobles were exempt from tax, peasants and regular wage laborers were not. The tax gap also left lower-class citizens unable to pay court fees, making justice unaffordable except for those wealthy enough to pay it. While the true cause of the French Revolution is still debated today, many historians feel that these high and unfair taxes were a major contributing factor to the civil unrest.