Suffocating Taxes, People Groaning, Rulers Living Elitist Lives? This is What a 14th-Century Muslim Sociologist Says

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA— The luxurious lifestyle of rulers and the suffocating tax burden on the people, are they connected?

Ibn Khaldun, a 14th-century Muslim scholar, explained that if the tax burden and obligations borne by the people are small in amount, the people will be enthusiastic and happy in their work. Because low taxes bring satisfaction to the hearts of the people.

When the people become more productive in their work, the taxes they pay will also increase.

However, according to Ibn Khaldun, the father of the sciences of historiography, sociology, and economics, when the rulers of the state perpetuate their power, this condition will make them more experienced in enjoying worldly pleasures.

Thus, the rulers’ initial modest and self-restrained nature will gradually disappear until it vanishes entirely.

As a result of the rulers’ luxurious lifestyle becoming habitual, it subsequently drives the emergence of tyranny and sophistication. Their habits and needs become increasingly varied, because they are immersed in pleasures and luxuries.

“Consequently, the tax obligations and burdens on the people, farm labourers, and all taxpayers increase,” wrote Ibn Khaldun in his book Muqaddimah, translated by Ahmadie Thoha and published by Pustaka Firdaus, 1986.

Every tax obligation and burden on individuals truly increases significantly, with the aim that the state can multiply its tax revenues. The rulers of the state impose duties on sales agreements and at city gates.