Centesima rerum venaliumCentesima rerum venalium was a 1% tax on goods sold at auction during the Roman Empire.HistoryTax revenues went into a fund to pay military retirement benefits, along with those from a new sales tax, a 1% tax on goods sold at auction. The inheritance tax is extensively documented in sources pertaining to Roman law, inscriptions, and papyri. It was one of three major indirect taxes levied on Roman citizens in the provinces of the Empire.