Taxes

uring the late Byzantine period, the taxes levied were the following: the kapnikon, the sitarkia, the zeugologion (on draught animals), the melissonomion (on bee-keeping) and other similar ones. The taxpayer was also burdened with taxes related to military expenses, such as the mitata, the aplekta and the epithesis monoprosopon.

The kommerkion still existed as an indirect tax, even though the revenues it yielded were insignificant, as a result of the increased privileges and exemptions ceded to foreign merchants during this period.

The rural population also had to provide private corvees (angareiai). After the 13th century these were systematically bought off, thus becoming, in their turn, regular pecuniary taxes.

The emperors often imposed extraordinary taxes for various reasons: for constituting an army, for instance, or a navy. This added to the burden of taxation and aggravated the situation of the populace. In 1307 Andronikos II imposed an extraordinary tax, the sitokrithon, on two of the most important agricultural products, wheat and barley, in order to cover part of the huge expenses created by the Catalan wars and to counter the financial effects of the loss of Asia Minor. According to this tax, every farmer was obliged to give the state a part of his crop, that is six modioi of wheat and four of barley per zeugarion (a unit of measurement corresponding to the extent of land that could be ploughed by a pair of oxen).

In 1349, John VI Kantakouzenos imposed taxes on the sale and production of wine. Wine merchants were taxed twice as much as wine producers. He also taxed the wheat from the Black Sea at half a gold nomisma per modios.