Kızgut said his excavation team had found a tablet written stating that the public was complaining of high taxes.Posted on 08/11/2009 5:51:12 AM PDT by BGHater
Inscriptions revealing complaints about high taxes from 1,700 years ago have been found during the excavation of the ancient city of Rhodiapolis in Antalya's Kumluca district.
The excavation was started by Professor Nevzat Çevik, head of the archaeology department in Akdeniz University's faculty of science and literature, and led this year by Assistant Professor İsa Kızgut. Kızgut told the Anatolia news agency that they made interesting discoveries concerning the social life of the people of Rhodiapolis. Noting that one of the most interesting discoveries was an inscription, Kızgut said: “In addition to many historical artifacts, we uncovered some relics concerning the social life of the people during the excavation of the ancient city of Rhodiapolis. The most interesting among these relics was a tablet written by a messenger describing that the public was complaining of high taxes, that he was sent to the emperor to request a discount and that he was promised that taxes would be lowered. We have an inscription written on a stone and erected as a stele in the agora. When we consider that people wanted sales tax and income tax rates to be lowered, we can infer that toward the A.D. third century the people of Rhodiapolis could not pay their taxes.”
Noting that the people of Rhodiapolis wanted Roman Emperor Septimius Severus to lower taxes, Kızgut said: “The emperor gave the green light and promised the messenger that taxes would be lowered. Upon his return to Rhodiapolis, the messenger informed the leader with great joy, and in honor of the messenger, an inscribed stele was erected in the agora.”
Kızgut said his excavation team had found a tablet written stating that the public was complaining of high taxes.
The more things change, the more they remain. ping
The more things change, the more they remain the same
Yes, they complained about high taxes. And the tax rate they complained about was NOTHING compared to what we have to pay.
We already know that. The rebellion against Rheheboam, Solomon’s son and heir, was about taxes, and it caused a permanent split in the Kingdom of Israel.
Ah yes, Emperor Severus the inventor of the severance tax.
The 1st way to deal with the issue is to end the money changers “the fed†in America and return to a currency backed via an asset.Bankers rape their victims financially and have been doing this for thousands of years.This must stop.
I read an excellent article about how the Roman Emporer’s ever-increasing need for tax money led to such micro-management of the economy that the role of every citizen and trade was prescribed to the point that it created the thousand year-system of serfdom in Europe.
I don’t really think it requires much of a study, to come to the conclusion that people do not like to be taxed.
The Article was written in ISTAMBUL. Anger at High Taxation is far reaching!
And going further back, Joseph persuaded Pharaoh to give the people of Egypt an 80% 'tax cut' (from 100% of non-household grain production down to 20%), to give an "economic boost" ahead of a prophesied famine (which came to pass). See Genesis 41:34-35.
A bit of research on taxes during the Roman empire shows:
1. Inheritance tax 5%.
2. Land tax, between 10 and 20%, mostly in the 10-15% range, taken in-kind, i.e., 10% of the harvest as tax where the tax payer owned the land. If the tax payer used public land, the rate was approximately 30%.
3. Instead of payment in kind, some provinces paid a monetary tax of 14 to 20% although it’s not clear what base this percentage applied to.
4. A “head tax” i.e., a flat rate tax paid per person. In some provinces only on men, in others on men, women and children. Did not apply to Roman citizens and the amount assessed varied from year to year and was different in different provinces.
5. Transport tax, similar to a tariff or duty, levied at the borders of provinces.
6. In addition to taxation, the emperor owned profit-making businesses, such as silver mines, the revenue from which went into his pocket, but he was also expected to pay for certain civic improvements and the like from his private revenue.
7. There were other taxes, such as on auctions.
Source: David S. Potter, THE ROMAN EMPIRE AT BAY AD 180–395,http://www.scribd.com/doc/17297008/THE-ROMAN-EMPIRE-AT-BAY-AD-180395
Jack
8:11 He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots;
8:12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
8:13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
8:14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
8:15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
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Thanks BGHater. |
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It is interesting that this appears to be one of the many Greek cities in Anatolia. So a Muslim is willing to look at non-Islamic society?
only a tenth?
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