Rank Hath Its Privileges (and sometimes its price).
In the time of Diocletian (but perhaps predating him), emperor of Rome and author of one of, if not
the, biggest tax increases seen in Rome, the estates of the Roman
Senators were exempt from the property and income taxes of the
empire … or were they?
A Senator of that time was required to pay an annual tax or forfeit his office. This
tax was called a gleba. There were three levels of gleba,
presumably based on the net worth of the Senator, although it is not known
what form it took. Records show that the annual imposition was 2, 4, or 8
somethings -- probably a sizable weight of gold.
Noticed while browsing For Good And Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization, by Charles Adams.