A History of Taxation, Part One: Taxation and Ancient Egypt

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…

Ancient Egypt wasn’t a place of terrible taskmasters and oppressed slavery – that’s only the stigma we get from the tale of Moses, which formed at a time of turmoil in Egypt. Actual translations of hieroglyphics indicate that life in ancient Egypt was usually bountiful and peaceful. The land was rich, women and men had roughly equal rights and life was enjoyed. Now, there were tax collectors, as numerous as “the sands of the seas”. The high level of Egyptian life was kept by these “scribes” who were charged with enforcing the pharaoh’s tax policies. Most everything was taxed – sales, slaves, foreign people, imports, exports, and businesses. Crops were taxed at an astounding 20%. There was also a charge on cooking oil and scribes would make regular visitations to kitchens to make sure that free drippings were not being wasted as opposed to the taxed oil.

The word “freedom” ironically in ancient times referred not to someone’s political or social liberty but to one’s taxation level. If you were “free,” it meant that you were exempt from taxation. Ironically, the word cannot be found anywhere in the Egyptian language. Good thing we live in this time eh? Go here if you want help with modern-day Tax Preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll in Cary NC.

However, the scribes were never brutal (at least in theory). They were taught to act kindly towards the poor and defenseless. One ancient translation instructs: “if a poor farmer is in arrears with his taxes, remit two-thirds of them.”

Another translation instructs scribes to “lighten up everyone and to place them into good humor.”

And, if anyone is struggling under pressures of taxation, or is at the end of his means to pay them, you must let the case go unchecked.” If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a Raleigh NC Accountant for all your tax-related needs!

This lenient policy was called “philanthropa”. From that we get the word philandthropy.

Over the 3000 years of the Egyptian empire, there were many times of humane and decent tax administration.

Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and the Greeks. http://www.marccpa.com/