Centesima rerum venalium

Centesima rerum venalium (lit. 'hundredth of the value of everything sold') was a 1% tax on goods sold at auction during the Roman Empire.

History

Tax revenues went into a fund to pay military retirement benefits (aerarium militare), along with those from a new sales tax (centesima rerum venalium), a 1% tax on goods sold at auction.^[1] The inheritance tax is extensively documented in sources pertaining to Roman law, inscriptions, and papyri.^[2] It was one of three major indirect taxes levied on Roman citizens in the provinces of the Empire.^[3]