VĪCĒSĬMA

a tax of five per cent. Every Roman, when he manumitted a slave, had to pay to the state a tax of one-twentieth of his value, whence the tax was called vicesima manumi ion is . This tax was first imposed by the Lex Manlia ( B.C. 357), and was not abolished when all other imposts were done away with in Rome and Italy. A tax called vicesima her edit a tum et legatorum was introduced by August us ( Lex Julia Vices i maria ): it consisted of five per cent., which every Roman citizen had to pay to the aerarium mil it are, upon any inheritance or legacy left to him, with the exception of such as were left to a citizen by his nearest relatives, and such as did not amount to above a certain sum. It was levied in Italy and the provinces by pro curat ores appointed for the purpose.