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A History of Taxation, Part One: Taxes and Ancient Egypt
Posted by IMer | Posted in Internet Marketing | Posted on 23-12-2009
W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Ancient Egypt was not a place of terrible taskmasters and miserable slavery – that is only the stigma we get from the story of Moses, which formed at a time of turmoil in Egypt. Modern translations of hieroglyphics indicate that life in ancient Egypt was usually bountiful and relatively at peace. The land was rich, men and women had roughly equal rights and life was good for most. Now, there were tax collectors, as many as “the sands of the seas”. The high level of Egyptian life was maintained by these “scribes” whose job was enforcing the pharaoh’s tax mandates. Most all aspects of life were taxed – sales, slaves, foreign people, imports, exports, and businesses. Crops were taxed at a hefty 20%. There was even a charge on cooking oil and scribes would make regular visitations to kitchens to ensure that free drippings were not being wasted as opposed to the taxed oil.
The word “freedom” ironically in ancient times did not refer to a person’s political or social liberty but to a person’s tax level. If you were “free,” it meant that you didn’t have to pay taxes. Interestingly, the word cannot be found anywhere in the Egyptian language. Good thing we live in this time eh? Go here if you want help with modern-day Tax Preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll in Cary NC.
However, the scribes were never inconsiderate (at least in theory). They were taught to be kind to the poor and defenseless. One ancient text instructs: “if a poor farmer is in arrears with his taxes, cut 2/3 of them.”
Another text instructs officials to “cheer up everyone and to direct them into a good mood.”
And, if someone is suffering under pressures of taxation, or is at the end of his means to pay them, you must let the case go unchecked.” If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a Raleigh NC Accountant for all your tax-related needs!
This lenient policy was called “philanthropa”. From that we get the word philandthropy.
Over the 3000 years of the Egyptian empire, there were many times of humane and decent tax administration.
Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and the Greeks. http://www.marccpa.com/
