tributum

In Ancient Rome, ''Tributum'' was a tax imposed on the citizenry to fund the costs of war. The ''Tributum'' was one of the central reasons for the conducting of the census on assets, as it rose with wealth. It included cash assets, land, property and moveable goods (i.e. slaves). Several types of ''tributum'' have been attested to, including '' tributum in capita, tributum temerarium'' (emergency levy)'','' and ''tributum ex censu'' (amount proportional to citizen's census financial rating).

Purpose

With money as the mainstay of the Roman Republic’s military success, the collection and use of ''tributum'' allowed Rome and its allies to pay their soldiers and bestow their armies with food, transport, equipment and support personnel, which effectively enabled Rome’s legions to remain in the field for lengths at a time. Long service, alongside the training undertaken during wartime, allowed legions to cultivate skill at arms and unit cohesion. The development of these skills and not being required to send soldiers home to attend to the agricultural needs of the state ensured many successful military campaigns.

The ''tributum'' can not be fully considered a 'tax', as there was an underlying idea that it could be paid back once military pressure was relieved. There was often an assumption that the military was supported by the monetary gains made in wartime conquests. However, it was very rare that spoils from an army’s victories equaled the money it took to win them – in fact, only half of the campaigns resulting in triumphs produced riches greater than the payments of the involved soldiers.

Origins

The origins of ''tributum'' are traditionally linked to the Siege of Veii (406 – 398), in which the fund was used to pay soldiers. The siege was described as a campaign in which the army served for a time longer than usual, which prompted the Senate to decree Dionysius also comments on the origins of ''tributum'', however, notes that “due to a lack of reliable sources, it is impossible to describe or date with any degree of certainty either the genesis of the system or its subsequent development into the complex structure which Livy and Dionysius describe”. Furthermore, both Dionysius and Livy argue that tributum was an element of the Servian system, with its introduction occurring in the sixth century under Servian reign. This view is not supported, with warfare in Rome's early city-state military service was considered an obligation without remuneration (''stipendium'') for soldiers. However, ''tributum'' and ''stipendium'' appear inextricably linked, with stating “theoretically, ''tributum'' could have existed prior to the war against Veii… the two institutions were so closely connected that imagining the one without the other is hardly feasible”.

Senate and decree

The introduction and the enforcement of ''tributum'' relied on decisions made by the Senate. Unlike other Roman taxes, ''tributum'' was not established under a binding law but required a senatorial decree to be enforced. Throughout the history of the tax, it had been opposed by plebeians, and incited by tribunes, yet it was the authority of the Senate which saw it enforced, repaid when circumstances changed, and determined depending on the number of soldiers deployed and the material goods they demanded.

Collection

''Tributum'' was not technically a tax in the true sense and was seen as a loan that must be paid by the ''adsidui'' to fund Rome's military expansion. The assidui were Roman citizens who were eligible for military servicebecause of their wealth but were not conscripted to serve in any particular year. The loan was not usually expected to be repaid, but there were instances of reimbursement after victories, as was the case following the defeat of the Samnites around 293 BCE. The ''tributum'' was paid proportionate to an individual's wealth established by their census group. It was not a flat rate of taxation but was instead determined by Rome's annual military needs. Some years' estimated military costs could be higher than others based on what military operations were to be undertaken in that given year, therefore a fluctuating rate of taxation was needed. This cost would have been divided by the total wealth of the ''adsidui'' to establish a rate of taxation for that year. This rate was multiplied by the wealth of each ''adsiduus'' to establish the amount of ''tributum'' owed by each group respectively. There is little evidence as to who physically collected ''tributum'', but it is believed that the ''tribuni aerarii'' were responsible for its collection.Rosenstein 2016, p. 91 Recent attempts to reconstruct the ''tributum'' owed in a particular year have been met with difficulty because of the impossibility of accurately calculating the estimated military expenditure for that year, as the cost of the logistical aspects of warfare are too difficult to ascertain.

Exemptions

While ''tributum'', as with any form of taxation was largely applicable to all, there were some cases in which the collection of ''tributum'' was suspended and of citizens being granted immunity and therefore exempt from collection. The collection of ''tributum'' was steady and an accepted aspect of civic life, where a brief period of suspension sparked by a significant acquisition of funds rendered ''tributum'' superfluous for the following century. After the defeat of Macedon in 167 BCE, Rome began to function without the ''Tributum'' because of booty accumulated through battle and the decrease in legions which needed material support. After the death of Julius Caesar, the state demanded increased funds for the civil war and so reintroduced the ''tributum''.

Citizens in the provinces had continued to pay unless they were subject to immunity, as was seen in the case of Egypt, but that did not free them from their obligation to hand in a declaration for the census.

The Roman citizens who qualified to pay ''tributum'' were known as '' assidui''; essentially, those who were not serving as legionaries paid for the benefit of those who were. The latter therefore paid no ''tributum'' as they effectively would have been paying double tax on both money and military service . In terms of exemptions, “those of the last century” (a kind of sixth class below the five property ratings), the '' proletarii'' or ''capite censi'', were neither taxed nor liable for military service. This also extended to individuals who did not own property if their lack of contribution to revenue exempted them from paying ''tributum'' .

Women

According to , while women were usually excluded, they voluntarily contributed to ''tributum'' during the Second Punic War. The Triumvirs later demanded woman paid the tax. Hortensia then argued that woman had never paid tax before that point and were not obliged, which resulted in the exemption of most of the 1,400 women who were requested to pay.

See also

* Pay (Roman army)

Notes

References

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* {{Citation
, last = Rosenstein
, first = N.
, chapter = Tributum in the Middle Republic
, title = Circum Mare: Themes in Ancient Warfare
, publisher = Brill
, volume = 388
, year = 2016
, pages = 80–97
, doi = 10.1163/9789004284852_006
, isbn = 9789004284852

Roman law
Taxation in ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Rome