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 an extraordinary power to rouse rebellion among disgruntled taxpayers. In 88 BC he led a civil war fighting Roman rule. By granting 5 years of tax exemption to each city that joined his rebellion, he gathered considerable support.
The Roman Senate sprang into action and told General Sulla to muster an army and re-establish Roman rule in the rebellious area. Sulla was victorious in squelching the rebellion after a 4-year struggle. When the revolt was squashed, Sulla ordered the leaders of the revolting cities to come to Ephesus. There the citizens were to denounce the 5 years of back taxes plus pay the general for his war debt.
To enforce this tax, Sulla established “special agents.” These special agents were given the power to scourge and kill, which was enough to cause any taxpayer fall in line. Up until this time there had been self-assessment tax collections, corporate tax collecting, military tax collection and the traditional government tax men. But 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 are 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 time and again in the past, persisting into the modern age as “financial police” or simply “special agents”, given the name initially given by Sulla over 2000 years ago. As the use of Sulla’s special agents was instituted 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 unwavering loyalty of their soldiers. Great civil wars broke out as rivalling legions fought. With these semiprivate armies, establishment of a military dictator was inescapable. So, the Roman Republic died. Royalty, dictators, and military strategists would now rule for the next two thousand years. Democratically designed governments and republics would not play a dominant 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/