W. Marc Gilfillan

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…

The Rosetta Stone, unearthed by Napoleon, was perhaps the absolute most helpful Egyptian archaeological discovery in history. The Stone had the same text in three different languages: Egyptian hieroglyphs, demotic (known as Egyptian script) and Greek. Using the Greek version, archaeologists figured out how to decipher the demotic and then the hieroglyphs. But the question is sustained: Egyptians had paper, named papyrus, so why was the writing etched in stone? Also, why 3 languages? And why Greek?

The Stone has been in existence before 3000 B.C. The Rosetta Stone was created around 200 B.C. during the reign of Ptolemy V (a king of Greek descent). So where did the Pharaohs go? At this point in history, Egypt was taken over in 700 B.C. by the Assyrians, then the Persians, and finally the Greeks in 330 B.C. After existing for 2000+ years, Egypt was in decline.

The Ptolemy’s were by and large good rulers, but around 200BC, during which the Rosetta Stone was etched, Egypt had just concluded a ten year long civil war. The civil struggle broke out because of exorbitant and oppressing taxes strengthened by tough Greek tax collectors. As the war ended there was still much unrest. Ptolemy V created a Proclamation of Peace which granted general amnesty for all rebels and tax debtors, reigned in taxation practices, ceased forced draft into the navy, and reinstituted tax exemption to the priesthood, temples, and their crops and lands, as it had been in the reign of the great pharaohs. If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a Raleigh NC Accountant for all your tax-related needs!

This was a great edge and financial windfall for the priests and temples and they wanted to make certain first all people knew it and, secondly, did not want it to be taken away again at some time in the future.

As a result, “Rosetta Stones” were carved and put at the entrance of every temple in Egypt. The Rosetta stones acted as warnings to all that tax exemption had been given to the priesthood and this temple and was a “Do Not Enter” proclamation to curtail the lawlessness of the king’s tax men. Go here if you want help with modern-day Tax Preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll in Cary NC.

This still begs the question: why written in stone? The answer is because the priests wanted to make sure it wouldn’t disappear or able to be simply destroyed. Another question was why write it in three languages? The Stone was carved in 3 languages so that everyone could read and follow the message the priests wanted to spread to everyone of Egypt. It was written in Greek to be very clear to the king’s tax men that they couldn’t even go inside the temple gates.

As a result of the most important Egyptian archaeological find in history, the stone unraveled the weird language of the Egyptians, made us capable of discovering the key to hieroglyphic writing and subsequently the key to unlocking the mystery of ancient Egypt and the understanding of the Egyptian way of life for 3000 years was, in truth, a tax document.

Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and The Colussus of Rhodes.

http://www.marccpa.com/

W. Marc Gilfillan

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…

Ancient Egypt wasn’t a place of terrible taskmasters and miserable slaves – that is only the impression we get from the tale of Moses, which formed at a time of turmoil in Egypt. Modern translations of Egyptian language indicate that life in ancient Egypt was usually bountiful and relatively at peace. The land was fertile, women and men were equal and life was good for most. But, there were tax collectors, as many as “the sands of the seas”. The order of Egyptian life was maintained by these “scribes” whose job was enforcing the pharaoh’s tax policies. Most all aspects of life were taxed – sales, slaves, foreigners, imports, exports, and businesses. Crops were taxed at a hefty 20%. There was also a charge on cooking oil and scribes would make regular visitations to kitchens to make sure that free drippings were not being used instead of the taxed oil.

The idea of “freedom” ironically in ancient Egypt referred not to one’s political or social liberty but to a person’s taxation status. If you were “free,” it meant that you paid no taxes. Ironically, the word can’t be found anywhere in the Egyptian language. Good thing we live in this time eh? Go here if you want help with modern-day Tax Preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll in Cary NC.

However, the scribes were never brutal (at least in theory). They were taught to be kind to the poor and defenseless. An example from an ancient text instructs: “if a poor farmer is in arrears with his taxes, cut two-thirds of them.”

Another text admonishes officials to “cheer up everyone and to place them into good humor.”

And, if anyone is suffering under the pressure of taxation, or is at the end of his means to pay them, you must let the case go unchecked.” If you’re feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a Raleigh NC Accountant for all your tax-related needs!

This lenient policy was called “philanthropa”. From that we get the word philandthropy.

Over the 3000 years of the Egyptian empire, there were many times of humane and decent tax administration.

Keep an eye out for W. Marc Gilfillan’s next chapter in his History of Taxes series: Taxes and the Greeks. http://www.marccpa.com/