W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…
Mithridates the Great ruled a small nation near what is now Turkey. He had the amazing ability to create rebellion among unhappy taxpayers. In 88 BC he organized a rebellion fighting Roman rule. By granting five years of tax immunity to every city that joined his rebellion, he mustered considerable help.
The Roman Senate quickly took swift action and appointed General Sulla to raise an army and re-establish Roman authority in the rebellious area. Sulla was victorious in suppressing the rebellion, but only following a four year struggle. When the rebellion was crushed, Sulla told the leading citizens of the disgruntled cities to meet him at Ephesus. At that place the citizens were to denounce the five years of back taxes plus pay the general for the cost of the war.
To enforce this tax, Sulla instituted “special agents.” These special agents had the power to scourge and kill, which was plenty to make most taxpayers cooperative. Up until this time there had been self-assessment tax collectors, corporate tax collection, military tax collection and regular government tax men. However, these newly instituted “special agents” were very skilled specialists with the ignorance of bureaucrats and the power of military executioners. Taxpayers lost any hope to evade. If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a Tax Preparer in Cary, NC for all your tax-related needs!
Special Agents have been instituted several times in the past, persisting in the modern age as “fiscal police” or just “special agents”, given the name first instituted by Sulla over 2000 years past. As the practice of Sulla’s special agents was instituted in neighboring nations, soldiers came to realize that the rich spoils of war came from their general, as opposed to the Roman Senate. Roman generals returned to Rome with the unwavering loyalty of their soldiers. Great civil wars broke out as rival armies fought. With these moderately private armies, the institution of a military dictator was inevitable. So, the Roman Republic died. Kings, dictators, and generals would now run the Roman Empire for the next 2000 years. Democratically designed governments and republics wouldn’t see a large role in civilization again until the 1800s. Go here if you want help with modern-day Tax Preparation in Raleigh, 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/
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