A tax evasion by fictitious sale of slaves told about a papyrus 1,900 years old – Liberation

The art of tax fraud, the 2nd century version after J.-C. A papyrus, discovered several decades ago in the Judea desert, between the current West Bank and Israel, reveals the strategy developed by two men to escape the tax of the Roman Empire, 1,900 years ago. The 133 -line manuscript, written in ancient Greek, was recently deciphered by four Austrian and Israeli archaeologists and papyrologists, and their conclusions published In the Antiquity Review Tyche of the University of Vienna, reports the New York Times. According to the ancient note, the tax evasion scheme involved the falsification of documents, the fictitious sale and the postage of slaves so as not to be subject to Roman taxesin these remote provinces of Judea.

This piece of tatter papyrus actually contains the report of a trial. And more specifically the notes of a prosecutor as well as a summary of a judicial hearing which would have taken place under the reign of the Emperor Hadrien, between 130 and 132 of the common era. The two accused, appointed Gadalias and Saulos, were prosecuted for false, tax fraud and fictitious sale of slaves – particularly serious crimes in Roman lawwith sanctions ranging from the fine to permanent exile, including forced labor or even, in the worst case, to the Damnatio ad bestias, A method of public execution where the convicts were devoured by wild animals.

Their combination was based on an administrative flaw: Saulos, the alleged brain of the case, declared the sale of several slaves to an accomplice living in the neighboring province of Arabia. Gadalias, son of a notary close to the local administrative elite, falsified sales acts and other contracts. By being sold, the slaves administratively disappeared from the goods of Saulos. The accomplice of Arabia did not declare them either, thus allowing the emancipation and the return to the freedom of the slaves, in addition to avoiding any tax. « Thus, on paper, the slaves disappeared in Judea but have never reached Arabia, becoming invisible in the eyes of the Roman administrators, underlined with the New York Times The main author of the studyAnna Dolganov. From now on, all taxes on these slaves could be avoided. ”

But the subterfuge did not face the Empire, which had sophisticated systems to record the owners of slaves and collect the taxes, amounting to 4 % on sales and 5 % on emancipations. « To free up a slave in the Empire, it was necessary to present current and past ownership proofs, which were to be officially registered, Specifies Anna Dolganov. If documents lacked or seemed suspect, the Roman administrators led an investigation. «  According to the papyrus, an informant also warned the Roman authorities-perhaps Saulos in person, denouncing his accomplice of Arabia, in order to protect himself. During their trial, the two men justified themselves as they could have: Saulos saying that it was his accomplice who had not declared the postage of slaves, and Gadalias by imputing false contracts to his father, dead.

Despite the numerous details recorded on this precious paper, several gray areas remain. No indication is provided on their motivations. « Why did these men have taken the risk of freeing a valid undocumented slave? » wonders the Austrian archaeologist. Perhaps there was a profit to be taken from the capture of people (or even consenting participants if we push the combination even further), to bring them into the Empire, then to « liberate » them to become free Romans. Perhaps they were human beings-although these scenarios were purely speculative. Another hypothesis put forward by the researchers uttered a much more noble aura to fraudsters: by simulating the sale of slaves then by releasing them, Gadalias and Saulos have accomplished a Jewish biblical duty?

Last frustration brought by the manuscript: the final verdict of the trial is unknown. « If the Roman judge was convinced that they were hardened criminals and that their execution was essential, Gadalias, as a member of the local civic elite, would have received a more lenient death, by decapitation », Anna Dolganov tent. Who knows what happened to Saulos … and the researcher to concede: « Almost everything is better than being devoured by leopards. »