The Origins of Taxation: The Figure Behind the System That Now Burdens the Public

Taxation has long been one of the primary sources of state revenue. The government collects taxes from the public through various activities, ranging from transactions to the ownership of goods and assets. The funds collected are then used to finance development and various state needs, ultimately aimed at public welfare.

However, the obligation to pay taxes is not always received positively, particularly by the middle class. The tax burden is seen as increasingly squeezing groups with limited incomes. This situation has even given rise to the perception that the public is merely being targeted to boost state revenue.

Looking far back, the state levy system now known as taxation has existed for thousands of years. History records that the Ancient Egyptian civilisation under the leadership of the Pharaohs implemented a levy system on the people around 3,000 BC. This system became one of the earliest known forms of taxation practice in history.

The Pharaohs’ reason for collecting taxes was to fund development and maintain social order. The Pharaohs imposed taxes on goods such as grain, textiles, labour, and various other commodities. Typically, the proceeds from tax collection were channelled into building similar sectors. For example, if a tax was levied on rice, the proceeds were used to build rice granaries.

The Pharaohs did not apply a uniform mechanism in tax collection, but rather an adjustment system. This meant that the amount of tax was adjusted according to the financial capacity of the tax subject. For instance, when taxing fields, the Pharaohs set high taxes if the field was highly productive or had abundant harvests. Meanwhile, non-productive fields were taxed at lower rates.

“Fields were taxed in different ways, and the rates depended on the productivity of each field and the fertility and quality of the soil,” historian Moreno Garcia told Smithsonian Magazine.

In addition, the tax collection system also depended on the height of the Nile River. This is based on archaeological findings that revealed the existence of a nilometer system. This system consisted of lines carved into a staircase used to measure water levels. If the water rose above the line, it meant the field was flooded and harvest yields had declined. Consequently, the tax imposed was not as high. The reverse also applied.

All tax collections were used to fill the state treasury. All citizens were taxed without exception. When this occurred, the burden on the people increased, especially since Ancient Egypt also had a corvée labour system. This system required all Egyptian citizens to work for the state on public projects, such as field cultivation, mining, and infrastructure development.

Nevertheless, this did not mean there were no tax evaders. Samuel Blankson in A Brief History Of Taxation (2007) noted that many people did not want their income to be taxed, and therefore thought of ways to circumvent it.

The most common method, for example, was collusion between the recorder and the tax subject. Tax subjects often did not report their actual income to the recorder so that their tax deductions would be smaller. In addition, tax subjects also frequently manipulated measurements, such as rigging scales so that their tax deductions would be low.

Ultimately, the legacy of income levies or deductions initiated by the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt has survived to this day. The system they pioneered became an inspiration for states as an effective instrument for treasury revenue. Today, all of this is commonly known as taxation.