Abstract
Taxation is a mark of civilisation. Tax evolved and developed independently in the great ancient empires. The concepts that evolved were transported to other empires and cultures where tax ideas took root. This pattern continues through to today as nations are influenced by developments in tax from other countries. In this chapter, the evolution of property taxes, inheritance, estate and gift taxes, consumption taxes such as excise taxes and sales taxes, and the income tax are examined. These taxes are traced from their roots on through mutations. The transportation of these taxes is also described.
‘There is no art which one government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pocket of people’ - Adam Smith.
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Samson, W.D. (2002). History of Taxation. In: Lymer, A., Hasseldine, J. (eds) The International Taxation System. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1071-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1071-0_2
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