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 manumissionis_. 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 hereditatum et legatorum_ was introduced by
Augustus (_Lex Julia Vicesimaria_): it consisted of five per cent.,
which every Roman citizen had to pay to the aerarium militare, 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 procuratores appointed for the purpose.