Roman taxes were a critical component of the Roman economy and society. They were used to fund the Roman government, pay for infrastructure projects, and support the military.
In the early days of the Roman Republic, taxes were levied on owned wealth and property, with rates typically ranging from 1% to 3%.
Over time, the Roman tax system became more complex, with different taxes levied on various goods and services.
In this section, we'll explore the history and evolution of Roman taxes, their impact on Roman society, and their legacy in modern taxation policies.
Tax in the Early Days of the Roman Republic
In the early days of the Roman Republic, public taxes consisted of modest assessments on owned wealth and property.
The tax rate under normal circumstances was 1% and sometimes would climb as high as 3% in situations such as war. These modest taxes were levied against land, homes and other real estate, slaves, animals, personal items and monetary wealth.
Taxes were collected from individuals and, at times, payments could be refunded by the treasury for excess collections. With limited census accuracy, tax collection on individuals was a difficult task at best.
Related Page: Roman Numerals
The tax system relied on accurate record-keeping to check who had paid. The Roman numbering sytem, known to us as Roman numerals, would have played a key part in these records. Click here to find out more about Roman numerals, including their origins, their limitations, and a handy chart and converstion tool!
The Riches from Conquests Allowed for Tax Free Living
By 167 BC, the Republic had enriched itself greatly through a series of conquests. Gains such as the silver and gold mines in Hispania created an excellent source of revenue for the state, and a much larger tax base through its provincial residents.
By this time, Rome no longer needed to levy a tax against its citizens and looked only to the provinces for collections.
Taxes in the Provinces
With expansion, Roman censors found that accurate census taking in the provinces was a difficult task at best. To ease the strain, taxes were assessed as a tithe on entire communities rather than on individuals.
Tax assessments in these communities fell under the jurisdiction of Provincial governors and various local magistrates, using rules similar to the old system.
Tax farmers (Publicani) were used to collect these taxes from the provincials. Rome - eliminating its own burden for this process - would put the collection of taxes up for auction every few years. The Publicani would bid for the right to collect in particular regions, and pay the state in advance of this collection.
These payments were, in effect, loans to the state and Rome was required to pay interest back to the Publicani. As an offset, the Publicani had the individual responsibility of converting properties and goods collected into coinage, alleviating this hardship from the treasury.
In the end, the collectors would keep anything in excess of what they bid plus the interest due from the treasury; with the risk being that they might not collect as much as they originally bid.
Tax farming proved to be an incredibly profitable enterprise and served to increase the treasury, as well as line the pockets of the Publicani. However, the process was ripe with corruption and scheming.
For example, with the profits collected, tax farmers could collude with local magistrates or farmers to buy large quantities of grain at low rates and hold it in reserve until times of shortage.
These Publicani were also money lenders, or the bankers of the ancient world, and would lend cash to hard-pressed provincials at the exorbitant rates of 4% per month or more.
The Emperor Augustus Changes the Tax System
In the late 1st century BC, and after considerably more Roman expansion, Augustus essentially put an end to tax farming. Complaints from provincials for excessive assessments and large, unpayable debts ushered in the final days of this lucrative business.
The Publicani continued to exist as money lenders and entrepreneurs, but easy access to wealth through taxes was gone.
Tax farming was replaced by direct taxation early in the Empire and each province was required to pay a wealth tax of about 1% and a flat poll tax on each adult. This new procedure, of course, required regular census taking to evaluate the taxable number of people and their income/wealth status.
Taxation in this environment switched mainly from one of owned property and wealth to that of an income tax. As a result, the taxable yield varied greatly based on economic conditions, but theoretically, the process was fairer and less open to corruption.
In contrast, the Publicani had to focus their efforts on collecting revenues where it was most easily available due to limited time and capacity. Their efforts were mainly directed at the cash wealthy, because converting properties into cash could be a difficult process.
Additionally, growth of a provincial tax base went straight to the coffers of the Publicani. They had the luxury of bidding against previous tax collections and the Treasury's knowledge of increased wealth would take several collections before auction prices were raised.
In this way, the Publicani increased their own wealth, but eventually the state would reap the benefit of increased collections down the line.
The imperial system of flat levies instituted by Augustus shifted the system into being far less progressive, however. Growth in the provincial taxable basis under the Publicani led to higher collections in time, while under Augustus, fixed payments reduced this potential.
Tax paying citizens were aware of the exact amounts they needed to pay and any excess income remained with the communities. While there could obviously be reassessments that would adjust the taxable base, it was a slow process that left a lot of room for the earning of untaxed incomes.
Although seemingly less effective to the state than that of the Publicani system, the new practice allowed for considerable economic growth and expansion.
Rising Costs Soon Begin to Necessitate Changes to the Tax System
As time passed, each successive emperor was challenged with meeting the soaring costs of administration and financing the legions, both for national defense and to maintain loyalty. New schemes to revise the tax structure came and went throughout the empire's history.
Large inflation rates and debased coinage values, by the reign of Diocletion, led to one of the more drastic changes in the system.
In the late 3rd century AD, he imposed a universal price freeze, capping maximum prices, while at the same time he reinstated the land tax on Italian landowners. Special tolls on money traders and companies were also imposed to help increase the tax collections.
Diocletion's program, in theory, should have helped ease the burden on various classes of taxpayers, but it didn't work that way in practice.
As an example, additional taxes were levied on land owners after the land tax had been paid because this was now a separate tax, instead of taking into account that taxes had already been collected.
The burden of paying the expected amounts was shifted from communities and individuals within them, to the local senatorial class. The Senators would then be subject to complete ruin in the case of an economic shortfall in a particular region.
Following Diocletion, Constantine compounded these burdens by making the senatorial class hereditary. By so doing, all debts and economic ramifications were passed from one senatorial generation to the next, ruining entire families and never allowing for a recovery that could benefit an entire community.
Were Roman Taxes Excessive?
Taxes in the Roman Empire, in comparison with modern times, were certainly no more excessive. In many cases they were far less per capita than anything we can compare to today.
However, the strain of tax revenues was heavily placed on those who could most influence the economy, and it would ultimately have dire consequences.
The economic struggles that plagued the late Imperial system, coupled with the tax laws, certainly played a part in the demise of the world's greatest empire.
List of Roman Taxes
Below is a list of some of the taxes levied in ancient Rome at various times throughout its history.
Tributum Soli
Assessed by a census, this was a tax based on the quality and size of land.
During the Imperial period this tax was split into two; the Tributum Soli was levied in the Imperial provinces (those Roman provinces where the Emperor had the sole right to appoint the governor), whilst the Stipendium was levied in Senatorial provinces (Roman provinces where the Senate appointed the governor).
Collatio Lustralis
Introduced in the latter part of the Roman period, this tax applied to all merchants, money-lenders, craftsmen, and others who received fees for their work, including prostitutes.
The only initial exemptions were physicians, teachers, and farmers selling their own food and produce.
Portoria
A customs tax on goods.
Quadragesima Galliarum
A 2.5% customs duty tax on all incoming and outgoing goods by land or sea in the Gallic provinces. Assessed and collected by equestrian procurators, the money raised was primarily spent on the armies at the Rhine.
Vicesima Hereditatium
A 5% inheritance tax levied on inheritances acquired through a will. However, close relatives such the deceased's grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, and siblings were exempt from paying.
It was introduced by the emperor Augustus in the year 6 AD.
Centesima Rerum Venalium
Literally translated from Latin as "hundredth of the value of everything sold" the centesima rerum venalium was a 1% tax on goods sold at auction.
It was introduced by Augustus, but the rate was reduced to 0.5% by his successor, Tiberius.
Tributum Capitis
A poll tax imposed on the inhabitants of the Roman provinces who, in the early Roman period, were not legally Roman citizens (who were exempt from the Tributum capitis).
Unsurprisingly, it was deeply resented, and was one of the primary causes of numerous revolts by provincial inhabitants.
Vicesima Libertatis / Vicesima Manumissionum
Established in 357 BC by the Consul Gnaeus Manlius, this early Roman tax of the Republican period levied a 5% tax on the value of a slave when they were freed.
It was payable by the master who freed the slave, or, if the slave paid to free themselves, it was due by them.
Quinta et Vicesima Venalium Mancipiorum
A 4% sales tax levied on the sale price of a slave.
Aes Hordearium
One of the earliest Roman taxes, the aes hordearium was levied against unmarried or widowed Roman women and orphans who possessed a certain amount of property.
Taxed at a rate of 2,000 ases per year, the money raised paid for the upkeep of the horses of the equus publicus (cavalrymen who were provided with a horse by the state).
While singling out this group may seem controversial to us today, the justification or logic behind it was, according to the historian Barthold Georg Niebuhr (1776 –1831), "that in a military state, the women and children ought to contribute for those who fight in behalf of them."
Aes Uxorium
A tax on unmarried men and women who were able to bear children. Its purpose was to encourage marriage and, therefore, the conceiving of children to increase the Roman population.
Fiscus Judaicus
First levied by Vespasian as one of the measures against Jews as a result of the First Roman-Jewish War, or first Jewish revolt of AD 66–73.
As well as raising money for the upkeep of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (the most important temple in Ancient Rome, located on the Capitoline Hill), it was also intended as a punishment and humiliation for all subjugated Jewish people.
Instead of contributing to the upkeep on the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem which had now been destroyed, they were now forced to contribute to the upkeep of Rome’s most important religious building.
A special procurator known as Procurator ad Capitularia Iudaeorum was responsible for the collection of the tax. The amount was two denarii, and was payable by all Jews, including women, children, the elderly, and slaves.
As an additional punishment/humiliation, the only way to become exempt from it was for a Jewish person to abandon their faith.
Related Pages: Roman Province of Judaea-Palaestina | Arch of Titus
Did you know...
During the 1st century AD, the Roman emperor Vespasian imposed a wide variety of taxes including the Fiscus Judaicus (a tax on the Jews), and even a tax on urine when used in the dyeing process.
Related External Link: Politics of Taxation in the Roman Empire
