(TikTok screencap)

  • Hapankaali@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    The amount (usually much less - unless there was some marauding army nearby) aside, it was more complicated than that. Taxation was delegated across a hierarchy of various stages; at each stage a mixture of negotiation, deception and coercion would be used to determine the taxation amount. The lowest-level tax collectors typically worked akin to a mob protection racket, and their own livelihood depended on extracting a surplus above what their employer (typically some noble) demanded.

    Certainly substantially less transparent and simple than clicking through an online form in a few minutes.