Taxation becomes futile when a populace are too poor to pay taxes. At such times in the ancient world, the poor were forced to work unpaid to help complete civil projects. Such measures were common practice at the time; in Egypt the Pharaoh would be merciless in the taxation of his subjects. Peasants were expected to work several days a month to help maintain roads and canals and to lend their muscle to construction and mining. Some governments could be strict in the extreme when imposing tax labour: in Babylonia, failure to fulfil labour obligations would see a man forfeit his lands.
