We recently contrasted the Greek soldier Xenophon’s enthusiasm for encouraging more rich foreigners to settle in Athens (to help out the finances) with our own rather mealy-mouthed attitudes.
We recently contrasted the Greek soldier Xenophon’s enthusiasm for encouraging more rich foreigners to settle in Athens (to help out the finances) with our own rather mealy-mouthed attitudes. But a work attributed (wrongly) to Aristotle illustrates that the Greeks were not generally short of scams to boost a state’s coffers.
Most of these are (legally) played by our government already. Thus, if your house has a patio with a nice view, you can expect to pay more council tax. Hippias of Athens likewise boosted the coffers by demanding that upper stories of houses that projected over the street be offered for sale. The owners promptly bought them up, making him a tidy sum.
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