Tax

==History==
[[File:Wells egyptian peasants taxes.jpg|thumb|Egyptian [[peasant]]s seized for [[tax noncompliance|non-payment of taxes]]. ([[Old Kingdom|Pyramid Age]])]]
The first known system of taxation was in [[Ancient Egypt]] around 3000–2800 BC, in the [[First Dynasty of Egypt|First Dynasty]] of the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt]].<ref name=":1">[http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v48/n28/AncientTaxes.html Taxes in the Ancient World], University of Pennsylvania Almanac, ''Vol. 48, No. 28, 2 April 2002''</ref> The earliest and most widespread forms of taxation were the [[corvée]] and the [[tithe]]. The corvée was [[forced labor]] provided to the state by peasants too poor to pay other forms of taxation (''labor'' in [[Ancient Egyptian literature|ancient Egyptian]] is a synonym for taxes).<ref name=burg>{{cite book |title=A World History of Tax Rebellions |author=David F. Burg |year=2004 |pages=vi–viii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T91k6HAODzAC&pg=PP1|publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9780415924986}}</ref> Records from the time document that the Pharaoh would conduct a biennial tour of the kingdom, collecting tithes from the people. Other records are granary receipts on [[Ostracon#Egyptian limestone and potsherd ostraca|limestone flakes]] and papyrus.<ref>Olmert, Michael (1996). ''Milton's Teeth and Ovid's Umbrella: Curiouser & Curiouser Adventures in History'', p. 41. Simon & Schuster, New York. {{ISBN|0-684-80164-7}}.</ref> Early taxation is also described in the [[Bible]]. In [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] (chapter 47, verse 24 – the [[New International Version]]), it states "But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to [[Pharaoh]]. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children". Samgharitr is the name mentioned for the Tax collector in the Vedic texts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Prasad|first=R. U. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EpTaDwAAQBAJ&q=atharvaveda+palagala&pg=PA108|title=The Rig-Vedic and Post-Rig-Vedic Polity (1500 BCE-500 BCE)|date=6 October 2020|publisher=Vernon Press|isbn=978-1-64889-001-7|language=en}}</ref> In [[Hattusa]], the capital of the [[Hittite Empire]], grains were collected as a tax from the surrounding lands, and stored in silos as a display of the king's wealth.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02630-9 |title=Ancient tax collectors amassed a fortune — until it went up in smoke |journal=Nature |date=14 September 2020 |volume=585 |issue=7826 |page=485 |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-02630-9 |bibcode=2020Natur.585Q.485. |s2cid=221720764 }}</ref>

In the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]], a regulated and sustainable tax system was introduced by [[Darius I the Great]] in 500 BC;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/D/DAR/darius-i-the-great.html |title=Darius I (Darius the Great), King of Persia (from 521 BC) |publisher=1902encyclopedia.com |access-date=22 January 2013}}</ref> the [[Persia]]n system of taxation was tailored to each [[Satrapy]] (the area ruled by a Satrap or provincial governor). At differing times, there were between 20 and 30 Satrapies in the Empire and each was assessed according to its supposed productivity. It was the responsibility of the Satrap to collect the due amount and to send it to the treasury, after deducting his expenses (the expenses and the power of deciding precisely how and from whom to raise the money in the province, offer maximum opportunity for rich pickings). The quantities demanded from the various provinces gave a vivid picture of their economic potential. For instance, [[Babylon]] was assessed for the highest amount and for a startling mixture of commodities; 1,000 [[Talent (measurement)|silver talents]] and four months supply of food for the army. [[India]], a province fabled for its gold, was to supply gold dust equal in value to the very large amount of 4,680 silver talents. Egypt was known for the wealth of its crops; it was to be the granary of the Persian Empire (and, later, of the [[Roman Empire]]) and was required to provide 120,000 measures of grain in addition to 700 talents of silver.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa65 |title=History of Iran (Persia) |publisher=Historyworld.net |access-date=22 January 2013}}</ref> This tax was exclusively levied on Satrapies based on their lands, productive capacity and tribute levels.<ref>''The Theocratic Ideology of the Chronicler'' – by Jonathan E. Dyck – p. 96 – Brill, 1998</ref>

The [[Rosetta Stone]], a tax concession issued by [[Ptolemy V]] in 196 BC and written in three languages "led to the most famous decipherment in history—the cracking of hieroglyphics".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/transcripts/episode33// |title=History of the World in 100 Objects:Rosetta Stone |author=British Museum |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

In the [[Roman Republic]], [[Taxation in ancient Rome|taxes were collected]] from individuals at the rate of between 1% and 3% of the assessed value of their total property. However, since it was extremely difficult to facilitate the collection of the tax, the government auctioned it every year. The winning tax farmers (called ''[[publican]]i'') paid the tax revenue to the government in advance and then kept the taxes collected from individuals. The ''publicani'' paid the tax revenue in coins, but collected the taxes using other [[medium of exchange|exchange media]], thus relieving the government of the work to carry out the currency conversion themselves. The revenue payment essentially worked as a loan to the government, which paid interest on it. Although this scheme was a profitable enterprise for the government as well as the ''publicani'', it was later replaced by a direct tax system by the emperor [[Augustus]]; after which, each province was obliged to pay 1% tax on wealth and a flat rate on each adult. This brought about regular census and shifted the tax system more towards taxing an individual's income rather than wealth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roman Taxes – Taxation in the Roman Empire {{!}} UNRV |url=https://www.unrv.com/economy/roman-taxes.php#google_vignette |access-date=3 April 2022 |website=www.unrv.com}}</ref>

Islamic rulers imposed [[Zakat]] (a tax on Muslims) and [[Jizya]] (a [[Tax per head|poll tax]] on conquered non-Muslims). In India this practice began in the 11th century.

===Trends===
Numerous records of government tax collection in Europe since at least the 17th century are still available today. But taxation levels are hard to compare to the size and flow of the economy since [[gross domestic product|production]] numbers are not as readily available. Government expenditures and revenue in France during the 17th century went from about 24.30 million ''[[livres]]'' in 1600–10 to about 126.86 million ''livres'' in 1650–59 to about 117.99 million ''livres'' in 1700–10 when [[government debt]] had reached 1.6 billion ''livres''. In 1780–89, it reached 421.50 million ''livres''.<ref>Hoffman, Phillipe and Kathryn Norberg (1994), ''Fiscal Crises, Liberty, and Representative Government, 1450–1789'', p. 238.</ref> Taxation as a percentage of production of final goods may have reached 15–20% during the 17th century in places such as [[France]], the [[Netherlands]], and [[Scandinavia]]. During the war-filled years of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, tax rates in Europe increased dramatically as war became more expensive and governments became more centralized and adept at gathering taxes. This increase was greatest in England, [[Peter Mathias]] and Patrick O'Brien found that the tax burden increased by 85% over this period. Another study confirmed this number, finding that per capita tax revenues had grown almost sixfold over the eighteenth century, but that steady economic growth had made the real burden on each individual only double over this period before the industrial revolution. [[Effective tax rate]]s were higher in Britain than France in the years before the [[French Revolution]], twice in per capita income comparison, but they were mostly placed on international trade. In France, taxes were lower but the burden was mainly on landowners, individuals, and internal trade and thus created far more resentment.<ref>Hoffman, Phillipe and Kathryn Norberg (1994), ''Fiscal Crises, Liberty, and Representative Government, 1450–1789'', p. 300 .</ref>

Taxation as a percentage of [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] 2016 was 45.9% in [[Denmark]], 45.3% in France, 33.2% in the [[United Kingdom]], 26% in the [[United States]], and among all [[OECD]] members an average of 34.3%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/tax/revenue-statistics-2522770x.htm|title=Revenue Statistics 2020 &#124; en &#124; OECD|website=www.oecd.org}}</ref><ref>[https://www.forbes.com/global/2004/0524/074chart2.html Tax/Spending Burden], Forbes magazine, ''05-24-04''</ref>

===Forms===
In monetary economies prior to fiat banking, a critical form of taxation was [[seigniorage]], the tax on the creation of money.

Other obsolete forms of taxation include:
* [[Scutage]], which is paid in lieu of military service; strictly speaking, it is a commutation of a non-tax obligation rather than a tax as such but functioning as a tax in practice.
* [[Tallage]], a tax on feudal dependents.
* [[Tithe]], a tax-like payment (one-tenth of one's earnings or agricultural produce), paid to the Church (and thus too specific to be a tax in strict technical terms). This should not be confused with the modern practice of the same name which is normally voluntary.
* (Feudal) aids, a type of tax or due that was paid by a vassal to his lord during feudal times.
* [[Danegeld]], a medieval land tax originally raised to pay off raiding Danes and later used to fund military expenditures.
* [[Carucage]], a tax which replaced the Danegeld in England.
* [[Tax farming]], the principle of assigning the responsibility for tax revenue collection to private citizens or groups.
* [[Socage]], a feudal tax system based on land rent.
* [[Burgage]], a feudal tax system based on land rent.

Some principalities taxed windows, doors, or cabinets to reduce consumption of imported glass and hardware. Armoires, [[hutch (furniture)|hutches]], and [[wardrobes]] were employed to evade taxes on doors and cabinets. In some circumstances, taxes are also used to enforce public policy like congestion charge (to cut road traffic and encourage public transport) in London. In Tsarist Russia, [[beard tax|taxes]] were clamped on beards. Today, one of the most-complicated taxation systems worldwide is in Germany. Three-quarters of the world's taxation literature refers to the German system.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Under the German system, there are 118 laws, 185 forms, and 96,000 regulations, spending [[Euro|€]]3.7 billion to collect the income tax.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} In the United States, the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] has about [[IRS tax forms|1,177 forms and instructions]],<ref>{{cite web |title=IRS pick list |url=https://apps.irs.gov/app/picklist/list/formsInstructions.html |publisher=IRS |access-date=21 January 2013}}</ref> 28.4111 megabytes of [[Internal Revenue Code]]<ref>{{cite web |title=title 26 US Code |url=http://uscode.house.gov/download/title_26.shtml |publisher=US House of Reperesentitives |access-date=21 January 2013}}</ref> which contained 3.8 million words as of 1 February 2010,<ref>{{cite web |last=Caron |first=Paul L. |title=How Many Words Are in the Internal Revenue Code? |url=http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2011/10/slate-how-many.html |access-date=21 January 2013 |date=28 October 2011}}</ref> numerous tax regulations in the [[Code of Federal Regulations]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/pagedetails.action?collectionCode=CFR&searchPath=Title+26%2FChapter+I&granuleId=CFR-2012-title26-vol1-toc-id2&packageId=CFR-2012-title26-vol1&oldPath=Title+26%2FTOC&fromPageDetails=true&collapse=true&ycord=0 |title=26 CFR – Table of Contents |publisher=Gpo.gov |date=1 April 2012 |access-date=22 January 2013}}</ref> and supplementary material in the [[Internal Revenue Bulletin]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Internal Revenue Bulletin: 2012–23 |url=https://www.irs.gov/irb/2012-23_IRB/ar08.html |publisher=Internal Revenue Service |access-date=7 June 2012 |date=4 June 2012}}</ref> Today, governments in more advanced economies (i.e. Europe and North America) tend to rely more on direct taxes, while developing economies (i.e. several African countries) rely more on indirect taxes.