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ABSTRACT
An old saying, still heard today, is that nothing is certain except for death and taxes. Taxes have been imposed upon and collected from citizens around the globe for thousands of years. This paper examines the various taxes described in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Many taxpayers feel that our current tax policy is both harsh and excessive, but it does not compare to the plethora of Temple and Roman taxes imposed on citizens living during this period. Historians cite more than ten types of taxes described in the books of the Old Testament. Beginning with the Temple Tax which was described in Exodus, the second book of the Old Testament, this paper discusses the various types of taxes described in the Bible. In addition to Biblical taxes, a second layer of assessments were collected by the Roman government. This dual system of taxation created an overall tax structure that was extremely burdensome to inhabitants of this period. The authors begin this paper with an examination of Adam Smith's four maxims of taxation. Smith argues that a fair and equitable tax will exhibit these four characteristics. Biblical taxes are reviewed in light of Smith's requirements for a good and fair tax. The New King James Version of the Bible was used by the authors in researching this paper.
Key Words: Taxes, Biblical Taxes, Historical Tax Systems, Ancient Taxes
INTRODUCTION
Taxes, in some form, have existed since the development of the earliest civilizations. Early rulers realized that funds had to be extracted from its citizens in order to support the operation of the government and provide basic services to the inhabitants of the area. Over the centuries, governments have utilized a number of types of taxes including income taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes, property taxes, and various forms of census taxes. This paper will attempt to review the various taxes utilized over the last 3,500 years beginning with those mentioned early in the Old Testament of the Bible. Taxpayers living at the time of Christ suffered from excessive taxes that were imposed by the Romans. These taxes often left the citizens with scarcely enough money to pay for the basic necessities of food and shelter.
This paper begins with a brief...