In historical Athens, solely the very wealthiest individuals paid direct taxes, and these went to fund the city-state’s most necessary nationwide bills – the navy and honors for the gods. Whereas immediately it would sound astonishing, most of those high taxpayers not solely paid fortunately, however boasted about how a lot they paid.
Cash was simply as necessary to the traditional Athenians as it’s to most individuals immediately, so what accounts for this enthusiastic response to a big tax invoice? The Athenian monetary elite felt this manner as a result of they earned a useful payback: public respect from the opposite residents of their democracy.
Athens within the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. had a inhabitants of free and enslaved individuals topping 300,000 people. The financial system principally targeted on worldwide commerce, and Athens wanted to spend massive sums of cash to maintain issues buzzing – from supporting nationwide protection to the numerous public fountains continually pouring out ingesting water all around the metropolis.
A lot of this revenue got here from publicly owned farmland and silver mines that had been leased to the best bidders, however Athens additionally taxed imports and exports and picked up charges from immigrants and prostitutes in addition to fines imposed on losers in lots of court docket circumstances. Usually, there have been no direct taxes on revenue or wealth.
As Athens grew into a world energy, it developed a big and costly navy of a number of hundred state-of-the-art wood warships referred to as triremes – actually that means three-rowers. Triremes value enormous quantities of cash to construct, equip and crew, and the Athenian monetary elites had been those that paid to make it occur.
The highest 1% of male property house owners supported the saving or salvation of Athens –referred to as “soteria” – by performing a particular sort of public service referred to as “leitourgia,” or liturgy. They served as a trireme commander, or “trierarch,” who personally funded the working prices of a trireme for a whole yr and even led the crew on missions. This public service was not low-cost. To fund their liturgy as a trierarch, a wealthy taxpayer spent what a talented employee earned in 10 to twenty years of regular pay, however as an alternative of dodging this accountability, most embraced it.
Operating warships was not the one accountability the wealthy needed to nationwide protection. When Athens was at struggle – which was more often than not – the rich needed to pay contributions in money referred to as “eisphorai” to finance the citizen militia. These contributions had been primarily based on the worth of their property, not their revenue, which made them in a way a direct tax on wealth.
To please the gods
To the traditional Athenians, bodily navy may was solely a part of the equation. Additionally they believed that the salvation of the state from exterior threats trusted a much less tangible however equally essential and expensive supply of protection: the favor of the gods.
To maintain these highly effective however fickle divine protectors on their aspect, the Athenians constructed elaborate temples, carried out massive sacrifices and arranged full of life public non secular festivals. These large spectacles featured musical extravaganzas and theater performances that had been attended by tens of hundreds of individuals and had been vastly costly to throw.
Simply as with trieremes, the richest Athenians paid for these festivals by fulfilling pageant liturgies. Serving as a refrain chief, for instance, meant paying for the coaching, costumes and residing bills for giant teams of performers for months at a time.
Proud to be paying
Within the U.S. immediately, an estimated one out of each six tax {dollars} is unpaid. Massive companies and wealthy residents do every little thing they will to reduce their tax invoice. The Athenians would have ridiculed such conduct.
Not one of the monetary elite of historical Athens prided themselves on scamming the Athenian equal of the IRS. Simply the alternative was true: They paid, and even boasted in public – in truth – that they typically had paid greater than required when serving as a trierarch or refrain chief.
In fact, not each member of the superrich at Athens behaved like a patriotic champion. Some Athenian shirkers tried to flee their liturgies by claiming different individuals with extra property should shoulder the fee as an alternative of themselves, however this tried weaseling out of public service by no means turned the norm.
So what was the reasoning behind this civic, taxpaying pleasure? Historical Athenians weren’t solely opening their wallets to advertise the frequent good. They had been relying on incomes a excessive return in public esteem from the investments of their group that their taxes represented.
This social capital was so beneficial as a result of Athenian tradition held civic responsibility in excessive regard. If a wealthy Athenian hoarded his wealth, he was mocked and labeled a “grasping man” who “borrows from visitors staying his home” and “when he sells wine to a pal, he sells it watered!”
Social wealth, not financial riches
The social rewards that tax funds earned the wealthy had lengthy lives. A liturgist who financed the refrain of a prize-winning drama might construct himself a spectacular monument in a conspicuous downtown location to announce his excellence to all comers all the time.
Above all, the Athenian wealthy paid their taxes as a result of they craved the social success that got here from their compatriots publicly figuring out them as residents who’re good as a result of they’re helpful. Incomes the honorable title of a helpful citizen may sound tame immediately, however in a letter to a Hebrew congregation in Rhode Island written in 1790, George Washington proclaimed that being “helpful” was a useful half of the divine plan for the US.
So, too, the Athenians infused that designation with immense energy. To be a wealthy taxpayer who was good and helpful to his fellow residents counted much more than cash within the financial institution. And this invaluable public service profited all Athenians by maintaining their democracy alive century after century.
Thomas Martin, Professor of Classics, School of the Holy Cross
This text is republished from The Dialog underneath a Artistic Commons license. Learn the authentic article.
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