Nagy_Botond_Kozteher_a_falu_javara

In the Age of Dualism (1867–1918), due to the dearth or absence of other revenues, rural municipalities in the Háromszék region resorted to local municipal taxes, passing the financial burden of public expenses on the local population. These taxes constituted the primary source of revenue for the local government, both in terms of volume and extent, and their implementation varied greatly over time and settlement types. In former tenant villages and newly established settler villages, the transition from customary law-based tenant contributions (rovatolás) to nationally legislated supplementary taxes was relatively smooth. In villages predominantly populated by formerly military-rank Szeklers, the system of contributions was more complex, primarily because of the relatively late dissolution of the collective landownership. In these places, tax-like contributions could not gain ground because it was more profitable to generate revenues from the Szeklers’ own individual right to sell wine, which was essentially an indirect form of consumption tax. Another alternative practice was the imposition of a fee in exchange for the communal use of forests and pastures, paid by members of the village communities. The separation of the civil municipality and landowning community as legal entities put an end to these two sources of revenue but created the possibility of an efficient supplementary taxation. Local supplementary taxation acted as a leveller which noticeably blurred the boundaries between the settlement types that had evolved in the Estates system.