Taxes in Orlanthi society

[PaulJW]

Taxation in medieval and ancient societies could be quite inefficient in its collection.  For all English history prior to the modern period, there was no such thing as a regular income tax.  The medieval English treasury relied primarily upon rentals from royal estates and from import and export duties (especially on the wool trade).  Income taxes were raised ad-hoc (usually after much arguing in parliament).  Collecting them was a pain but by the late Middle Ages they were collecting around 95%+ of what they thought they were due.  Basically, the taxes were collected mainly at the local manor houses.  The local manorial lord (or lady) would organise local collections.  They would know who was who locally and have a reasonable idea of what they were earning.  It was by no means accurate and totally open to corruption.  The local population would then have to troop into the local manor to pay their dues.   Taxing imports and exports was easier for England because you could do a count of what was coming in and out of the ports and tax it accordingly (smuggling and bribery not withstanding).  For European countries with land borders, policing duties was obviously no easy task.

 

[Kloster]

2 hours ago, PaulJW said:

For European countries with land borders, policing duties was obviously no easy task.

In France, collecting duties was done when entering a territory (Either a free city or the land controlled by a noble). For city, it was done at the gates. For crossing borders, as most of the land limits were natural borders, it was done at choke points, i.e. bridges or narrow valley. When nothing exists, a big wall could be built: Around Paris, the royal tax collectors (the Fermiers Generaux) built a 24 km wall just to be able to collect taxes at the gates.

[Joerg]

21 minutes ago, Kloster said:

In France, collecting duties was done when entering a territory (Either a free city or the land controlled by a noble). For city, it was done at the gates. For crossing borders, as most of the land limits were natural borders, it was done at choke points, i.e. bridges or narrow valley. When nothing exists, a big wall could be built: Around Paris, the royal tax collectors (the Fermiers Generaux) built a 24 km wall just to be able to collect taxes at the gates.

Pretty much the story of the Danewerk near Schleswig - a system of earth walls and palisades that blocked any other convenient trade route and funneled all overland trade through its single gate. While it doubled as somewhat defensible position against invaders from the south, that was not its primary role. Like the Roman Limes, its main military function was to slow down invaders.

[Erol of Backford]

Was looking at the toll booths of earlier Japan as a result of this thread. Recall visiting some of these locations along the coastal areas north of Tokyo. Easier to walk the roads and pay the toll than to try and cross the mountains with goods.

I ran into this passage:

In the mid-8th century, a number of fruit trees were systematically planted along the Seven Roads, which eventually led to the tree lined roads of today. 

Whereas the Tokaido passes through coastal regions with a mild climate, the Nakasendo goes between mountain ranges. Processions of feudal lords were a common sight on the Tokaido, and at times it was crowded. Consequently, many ordinary travelers normally preferred to use the Nakasendo.

Would Sartar not have attempted the same sort of thing so that there would be shade and at least part of the year some food to be had along the way during the seasons when most travel would have been conducted?

If nothing else interesting to think on.

Edited July 18 by Erol of Backford