Publicans in the Principate

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Abstract The Roman Republic had few civil servants, and none collected its revenues. The property tax (tributum) paid by Romans themselves until 167 BC was collected by citizens of substance (tribuni aerarii); they doubtless discharged the task as a compulsory public service, a munus corresponding to the Greek ‘liturgy’, and their property was probably pledged to the treasury for due performance; we do not know what arrangements were made for collection of the extraordinary levies imposed on citizens between 43 and 29 BC. In some provinces Rome demanded lump sums from the local communities, presumably assessed on a rough estimate of their resources, which they were free to raise by their own imposts and through their own agents, including local publicans. For the collection of direct taxes in other provinces, of indirect taxes, and of rents or fees for the use of public domains, both in Italy and in the provinces, Rome relied on private contractors working for profit, as it did for the construction and upkeep of public buildings and the provision of supplies for armies and fleets.