In Vedic India, who paid taxes to the rulers?
Answers
Answer:
Monarchy in ancient India was sovereignty over a territory by a King who functioned as its protector, a role which involved both secular and religious power. The meaning and significance of kingship changed dramatically between the Vedic and Later Vedic period, and underwent further development under the influence of Buddhism. Although there is evidence that kingship was not always hereditary during the Vedic and into the Later Vedic period, by the time of composition of the Brāhmaṇa literature, traces of elective kingship had already begun to disappear.
The king's right to tax was the logical next step after the theory of absolute ownership of lands by the king. Manu describes the king as the absolute lord of the land and as such, the king was entitled to his share in the produce of the lands. The permission of the king was needed to buy, sell and donate land.[36] In reality, the land was the people’s own, with the king only claiming absolute ownership. As long as the people worked the land and paid their taxes, they would be fine, but otherwise, the king could exercise his power and confiscate the land.[37]
Bilateral contract
This understanding was part of a bilateral contract made between the king and the people. The people would work the land and give taxes to the king for protection. The contract implies that the people submitted to a sovereign authority that they created, they volunteered to pay the tax, the tax rate was fixed by the people, the taxes are paid to the king as a wage for his protection and the king has to answer to the people. From this it can be concluded that the king has the right to tax, it is the duty of the people to pay taxes, and the duty is conditional on the performance of the king in his duties.[38] This idea of the king’s performance in protection in relationship to taxation is so important that some texts require the king to compensate for any stolen goods he failed to recover.[39]
Limits
The king had limitations on how he could tax. He had to know when to tax as some times were better than others. The amount the person was taxed was to be determined by the nature of the person. If they had gotten rich from doing wrong, they were to be highly taxed, those who were prosperous were to be taxed little by little and those who could not pay should never be taxed. The limit people could pay in taxes should not be crossed. Only profits and surpluses should be taxed.[40] Increases should be done gradually and at the proper time. The king should use the taxes to help benefit the people.