The History of Taxation Practices, Chapter 6: Tax Law and The End of the Roman Empire

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

Mithridates the Great was the leader of a small nation in what is now Turkey. He had the amazing ability to arouse discontent among unhappy taxpayers. In 88 BC he organized a civil war against Roman rule. By granting 5 years of tax exemption to every city that joined his army, he gathered considerable help.

The Roman Senate sprang into action and told General Sulla to muster an army and restore Roman authority in the east. Sulla succeeded in suppressing the rebellion after a four year struggle. When the revolt was crushed, Sulla told the leaders of the revolting cities to come to Ephesus. At Ephesus the citizens were to remit 5 years of back taxes and compensate Sulla for his war debt.

To enforce this tax, Sulla established “special agents.” These special agents had the ability to scourge and kill, which was enough to cause most taxpayers fall in line. Up until this period there were self-assessment tax collections, private tax collecting, military tax collectors and the traditional government tax men. However, these newly instituted “special agents” were highly skillful specialized men with the ignorance of bureaucrats and the power of military executioners. Taxpayers lost any inclination to evade. If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a Tax Preparer in Raleigh, 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 “financial police” or just “special agents”, using the name initially instituted by Sulla over two thousand years past. As the practice of Sulla’s special agents was put in to place in other provinces, the army came to understand that the rich spoils of war came from their general, not the Roman Senate. Roman generals returned to Rome with the blind loyalty of their soldiers. Huge civil wars started as rival armies slaughtered each other. With these moderately private armies, the institution of a military dictator was inescapable. So, the Roman Republic died. Kings, dictators, and generals would now rule for the next two thousand years. Democracies and republics would not play 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/