In Greece, according to historian Bujnada Saez, submission of the citizen to the tax burden was not a relationship of servitude, but an aid to the state in pursuing the public good. In the minds of the Greeks did not conceive that a man free were subject by law to a tax payment against their will. In other words, the Greeks were direct personal taxes against the dignity and freedom of citizens. The only taxes that were agreed to direct some such as customs, market and even some court fees, personal taxes come later, but not as a necessity of the common good but rather as a result of armed conflicts.

At the time of hereditary monarchies, had a powerful nobility, who owned the land.  And it could only be citizens who own property contributed to certain public or social costs.
The running costs of the state were filled by real estate products and only in extraordinary occasions went to the contributions.

Gradually, the Greeks felt that the income of the property of the Crown not sufficient to meet all expenditure groups.  And they wanted for their acts of worship the splendor, for the best music festivals, places or meeting places for their cleanliness and beautification.  It was necessary to resort to indirect taxes, that is, all taxes and consumption expenditure relatives.  The relationship between income and expenditure appeared for the first time in the history of mankind.

Athens led the league of states, who pay an annual fee to build ships and equip soldiers: the treasure of Delos.  An educated man, intelligent and enterprising will lead the destinies of Greece: Pericles.  In that protect the merit of science and arts, Copies reforms and effective surround collaborators.  The newly conquered lands were divided among the peasants and provisions for employees to remedy the poverty of large segments of the population.

The Treasury is transferred from Delos to Athens. Pericles decides not only be used for military purposes but also for the construction of public buildings.  The Parthenon, together with the Propylaea and the Erechtheion, beautify the city, but also mitigates the strike. This Athens reached its heyday in the period known as the Golden Age of Pericles' Athens or silo, increasing their military power and naval as well as a large commercial development, and financial scale, making it the economic power of Greece, promoting peace for over 20 years.

At the same time, the community spirit of the Athenians was that the Treasury was a sort of common stock to distribute goods among the people.  The wealthy citizens who attended the games of the holidays had to give two mites to the poor could also enjoy the shows.  And when this was not enough, the leftovers are distributed each year of the budget.

These deals and the Parthenon that arise in all of Greece Acropolis reduce public funds and leave them without reservation in case of necessity or war spending.  On such occasions there was no choice but to establish direct taxes, all taxes imposed on income or wealth of citizens.

It is noteworthy that the Athenian democracy could not conceive of direct taxes as the only fair, and so in peacetime collected indirect taxes such as the duty chargeable on the market and consumption.  The customs duties never exceeded 2.5%, allowing the flow to the newly built port of Piraeus for all products of other countries.

These tax benefits not deliver the wealthy citizens of the obligation to finance choirs participating in the festivities organized by the State, or equip and maintain a combat vessel in wartime.

Source: DGII - Dominican Republic - Education Tax