Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/138

132 5. Taxes on Trade. Every man except the farmer is expected to follow a trade, hence a tax levied on all above fifteen years of age, increasing as the age advances. The supposed gain on a given trade is determined by the authorities, and three to four per cent. demanded whether the person follows his trade during the year or not; hard times and failure in business excuse no one.

Besides the above taxes there are various fees and dues—duty on merchandise, fees on birth and marriage and death and burial; dues on building, repairing, planting and change of residence; dues on traveling, buying and selling. Great amounts of money are often collected for the "improvement of the roads and erection of public buildings and bridges, but no one can see where such roads and buildings are or ask questions about them without being accused of rebellion, which means imprisonment, torture and loss. Frequently a general announcement is circulated all over the country declaring urgent needs of the government and demanding immediate response for this "obligatory help," as it is called. Well-to-do persons, especially among the Christians, are forced to share in this involuntary virtue.