In one of Alfred Duggan's books ('The Little Emperors', I think) the narrator is the chief tax official in Britain. His main task is, as soon as the legions have been paid, to work out ways of taxing all the money back from the locals in time for the next payday so that it can be paid out again.
At the end of the book the legions have gone home and he's in retirement at the court of a native chief. Occasionally he tries to explain to the chief just how he's worse off now the legions have gone, but has trouble thinking of any reasons.
Andrew
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