Taxation has long been one of the primary sources of state revenue.\nThe government collects taxes from the public through various\nactivities, ranging from transactions to the ownership of goods and\nassets. The funds collected are then used to finance development and\nvarious state needs, ultimately aimed at public welfare.<\/p>\n
However, the obligation to pay taxes is not always received\npositively, particularly by the middle class. The tax burden is seen as\nincreasingly squeezing groups with limited incomes. This situation has\neven given rise to the perception that the public is merely being\ntargeted to boost state revenue.<\/p>\n
Looking far back, the state levy system now known as taxation has\nexisted for thousands of years. History records that the Ancient\nEgyptian civilisation under the leadership of the Pharaohs implemented a\nlevy system on the people around 3,000 BC. This system became one of the\nearliest known forms of taxation practice in history.<\/p>\n
The Pharaohs\u2019 reason for collecting taxes was to fund development and\nmaintain social order. The Pharaohs imposed taxes on goods such as\ngrain, textiles, labour, and various other commodities. Typically, the\nproceeds from tax collection were channelled into building similar\nsectors. For example, if a tax was levied on rice, the proceeds were\nused to build rice granaries.<\/p>\n
The Pharaohs did not apply a uniform mechanism in tax collection, but\nrather an adjustment system. This meant that the amount of tax was\nadjusted according to the financial capacity of the tax subject. For\ninstance, when taxing fields, the Pharaohs set high taxes if the field\nwas highly productive or had abundant harvests. Meanwhile,\nnon-productive fields were taxed at lower rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cFields were taxed in different ways, and the rates depended on the\nproductivity of each field and the fertility and quality of the soil,\u201d\nhistorian Moreno Garcia told Smithsonian Magazine.<\/p>\n
In addition, the tax collection system also depended on the height of\nthe Nile River. This is based on archaeological findings that revealed\nthe existence of a nilometer system. This system consisted of lines\ncarved into a staircase used to measure water levels. If the water rose\nabove the line, it meant the field was flooded and harvest yields had\ndeclined. Consequently, the tax imposed was not as high. The reverse\nalso applied.<\/p>\n
All tax collections were used to fill the state treasury. All\ncitizens were taxed without exception. When this occurred, the burden on\nthe people increased, especially since Ancient Egypt also had a corv\u00e9e\nlabour system. This system required all Egyptian citizens to work for\nthe state on public projects, such as field cultivation, mining, and\ninfrastructure development.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, this did not mean there were no tax evaders. Samuel\nBlankson in A Brief History Of Taxation (2007) noted that many people\ndid not want their income to be taxed, and therefore thought of ways to\ncircumvent it.<\/p>\n
The most common method, for example, was collusion between the\nrecorder and the tax subject. Tax subjects often did not report their\nactual income to the recorder so that their tax deductions would be\nsmaller. In addition, tax subjects also frequently manipulated\nmeasurements, such as rigging scales so that their tax deductions would\nbe low.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the legacy of income levies or deductions initiated by\nthe Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt has survived to this day. The system they\npioneered became an inspiration for states as an effective instrument\nfor treasury revenue. Today, all of this is commonly known as\ntaxation.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-origins-of-taxation-the-figure-behind-the-system-that-now-burdens-the-public-1788010435", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }