The History Of Taxation And Money: Evolution Over The Years

People tend to have strong views on taxes and how they should be administered. The history of taxation and money is full of conflicting views on the subject, so this subject is nothing new. However, these views have ultimately helped craft how our systems work today and where they will go in the future.

In early societies, of course, people bartered since they had no commonly accepted store of value. Pricing things this way could get tricky and it also posed the problem of how a trader could get what he or she wanted. The wheat farmer would wanted a portion of meat, for example, would have to find someone with the inverse desire. To remedy this, some societies set up weight values that could be traded in exchange for a commodity of an equal value later.

The leap to money from this conception was not very hard to make. Some early societies recognized that valuable goods or commodities could be a stand-in for direct trades. Gold, silver or even shells served this purpose in different societies. Certain producers marked them to prove their origin and value. Governments soon realized that they could serve as trustworthy authorities and began produced and distributing their own currencies.

Now that people could keep value for longer periods of time, the idea of the government doing the same arose. Public works required funds and getting taxes from the public was a means to that end. The Egyptians did this, the Greek states funded their battles by taxing people and the Romans set up a way to collect taxes on the city level and move them to where they were needed most. Many European countries would later use this model for their own systems.

Over time, the public’s expectations from governments have increased greatly. Alongside this development, tax regimes have become more complex and pervasive. To varying degrees, governments provide funds for retirement, unemployment, disability and medical expenses for the poor. Instead of taxing a few commodities, governments now levy taxes on imports, exports, sales and capital gains, among other things.

For many people now, money is largely a number in a bank account that goes up or down with payments going in and out. Governments recognize this and are beginning to offer electronic services in a variety of areas, including tax services. Online services range from simple FAQs to complete filing online. This varies from country to country.

An overview of the history of taxation and money shows that these have been existed for ages and are unlikely to go away any time soon. But, as we speak, several governments across the world are discussing the simplification of their systems. While people often feel skeptical about such reforms, tax law will undoubtedly look different as our perceptions and values evolve.

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