An Analysis On The Legal System Of Tax In Codex Theodosianus

Based on more than 570 related fragments in the Codex Theodosianus,this paper studies the tax legal system in the post-classical period of the ancient Rome(the second half of the third century ad to the fifth century AD).The Codex Theodosianus is the first official codified code in the history of Roman law.It contained all edictums between Constantine the Great and Theodosius II and applied throughout the whole Roman Empire.This code is a monument to the juristic standards of the classical period in the ancient Rome.Up to now,most scholars at home and abroad have discussed when and how the code was promulgated and so on.They seldom analyzed the specific legal system in the code,especially the tax part.But throughout the historical process,taxation had an important influence on Roman society,and it was an important support of the Roman Empire regime.The legal system of tax occupies a fifth of the proportion of the code and has a very high research value.The analysis of the tax legal system in the Codex Theodosianus not only can understand the formulation of the Rome imperial tax law in the post-classical period,but also can clear the political,economic,religious and life customs and other social development context at that time.This article mainly introduces the tax legal system in the Codex Theodosianus,including the legal system of tax and tax management mode.This system takes capi-tatio iugatio as the main tax,and collatio lustralis,collatio glebalis,aurum coronarium as auxiliary taxes.The article also combed the tax collection procedures,the penalties for the enforcement of illegal acts by taxpayers and measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the taxpayers,which are established by the Codex Theodosianus.The tax legal system of the Codex Theodosianus is influenced by historical factors such as the late Roman monarchy,new economic system and the needs of social development.And by the compilation of the Codex Theodosianus,the edicts have become the main source of law for judicial trials and for guiding the daily life of the roman people.The tax legal system played an important role in stabilizing the early monarchy and provided a historical text for the systemization of the later tax law system.However,this system is confined to the continuous decline of the imperial economy and the imperfections of the imperial bureaucratic administrative system.It has the deficiencies of insufficient representation of the content and the problem of official corruption can not be fundamentally solved-The full text finally tries to explore the connection between the tax legal system and the decline of the Roman Empire.It is believed that the formulation of the taxation legal system in the post-classical period of ancient Rome is relatively perfect,and it is not the culprit of the social phenomenon that led to overtaxation.But it cannot be denied that this system actually restricts social mobility and hinders the development of the country's construction.On the other hand,it has caused the decline of Rome.