Some sort of conservative publication called Gather claims, inter alia:
In Jesus’ time, the Roman Empire taxed the Israelites at a rate of 65 percent of gross wages or gross agricultural production.Yes, you read that correctly.
The Romans got 65 percent. The Israelites kept 35 percent. This was designed to keep the laborers struggling to survive. The Romans wanted to ensure that the laborers had little time to express their discontent.
An attached comment suggests:
For those who are skeptical about the Roman tax rate, there is a footnote
Robert J. Miller Ph.D., lecture at Epworth By The Sea Methodist Retreat Center, St. Simons Island, GA, 10/07/2003. Fellow at http//jesusseminar.org.
I’ll hold my tongue about footnoting claims made in lectures and also about the appropriateness of referring to ‘Israelites’ at this time … but can anyone come up with a combination of Roman taxes that would give a 65% taxation rate?
rogueclassicism 