What were the taxes like in ancient Rome?

Answer 1

As with any country, the government needs money to operate and pay for public services. The country gets this money through taxes collected from the citizens of the country. Specifically, Rome needed money for aquaducts, an extensive sewer system and other public works projects.

Answer 2

During the period of of the Late Republic tax collection was tendered to private individuals who practice tax farming, the lining of their pockets through extortion. With rule by emperors this ended and tax collectors the prefects, who were officials of the imperial state. The taxes were set by the emperors.

Answer 3

It is often stated that the ancient Romans suffered from crippling taxation. Today's taxpayers (certainly the European ones) would probably be very happy to "suffer" like that. Income tax first of all was unknown; the basic tax in ancient Rome was mostly property tax and transaction tax, which varied over the centuries from 0.1% in the earliest days to some 5% in the Empire's final days. Very often and mostly in the Roman provinces, it was not individuals who were taxed but communities whose wealth was assessed. The community was taxed in one lump sum and then left to its own devices as how to divide the cost.

There was a tendency over time to focus on the rich who often had more to fear from an emperor simply confiscating a senator's posessions on some pretext. The general public, farmers and entrepreneurs had most to fear not from taxation but from an emperor debasing the coinage and the resulting - sometimes galloping - inflation.

Answer 4

Ancient Rome used the funds it received via taxation for a wide variety of projects it deemed necessary to keep its empire going. This included building projects, paying its military forces and funds for buying bread for Rome's masses.

Answer 5

So they could have lots of money.