No Jewish man or woman may obtain a letter from the king, queen, lord, lady or other influential person exempting that individual from taxes imposed by the Jewish communities. No one may seek confirmation of such a privilege or persuade or threaten a person outside our faith to obtain one on his or her behalf.

No individual or community may accept such an offer, even if it was made without being requested. No letter obtained in this manner may be used to avoid taxes, levies, loans or other payments demanded from the communities by our lord the king.

When a tax is imposed upon a particular class or group of Jews, the same rule shall apply unless the person was already exempt when the tax was established. If a community leases the collection of its taxes to a tax farmer, that farmer may not exempt anyone who wasn’t already exempt when the agreement was made.

Any agreement reducing a person’s taxes because of threats, fear or a purported letter of exemption shall be invalid. If that person refuses to pay after the rabbi has ruled that payment is required, he shall be placed under the ban and excluded from the community.

All documents relating to tax exemptions must be presented to the rabbi of the court within six months. The rabbi may then decide how they are to be treated.

Don Meir Alguades, of blessed memory, defended his people for many years. Earlier ordinances granted him and his descendants exemption from communal taxes, and that privilege remains in effect.

His widow, Doña Bathsheba, has lived honorably and preserved her husband’s memory. His daughter, Doña Luna, widow of the respected Don Meir Alfachar, is likewise a worthy woman. Neither widow shall be compelled to pay taxes or provide security for their payment, and Don Abraham, rabbi of the court, shall decide the exact extent of their exemption.

If a community believes it has been treated unjustly in the apportionment of taxes, it may send representatives to the rabbi of the court. He shall consult two other rabbis of his choosing and, if they find the complaint justified, shall arrange for the wrong to be corrected.

Appeals by individuals

Some communities have adopted strict ordinances requiring all communal taxes and expenses to be divided among every resident without exception. Under these rules, no one may claim a lawful exemption.

Because tax assessors sometimes cause serious and evident injustice, we ordain that no such rule shall be adopted in the future. Existing ordinances of this kind shall be reconsidered at a general meeting of the community, where the ban supporting them may be released.

The community may then adopt rules concerning tax exemptions on the advice of its local rabbi. If the town has no rabbi, it shall follow the advice of the rabbi of the nearest town.

No community may prevent an individual from presenting a grievance against it. If the community and the individual agree upon a local or neighboring judge, the dispute shall be decided by that judge. If they can’t agree, the matter shall be referred to the rabbi of the court.

The rabbi may decide the dispute, remove the tax assessor and appoint another person to ensure that the decision is carried out. Since communities would suffer if everyone who disputed an assessment withheld payment, each person must first pay the amount assessed.

If the judge later finds that the complaint was justified, the community shall return the excess payment. It may instead credit the excess toward another tax owed by that person.

Anyone claiming exemption under privileges allegedly granted to the communities of Valderas and Badajoz, or under a privilege supposedly granted to the Jews of Astorga by that city’s church and bishop, must prove the claim before the rabbi of the court or his representative. Without such proof, the privilege shall be considered invalid and the claimant shall pay taxes like everyone else.

Widows, orphans and disabled people

An unmarried widow or orphan, whether male or female, possessing less than four hundred maravedís shall be exempt from taxation. If such a person possesses more than four hundred maravedís, only the amount above that sum shall be taxed.

The same rules shall apply to people who are lame or otherwise physically disabled. Their basic property allowance shall therefore remain free from communal taxation.

Taxes on meat and wine

Every community shall establish taxes upon meat and wine. Each community may determine the rates according to its own customs.

If the members can’t agree upon the rates within thirty days of their meeting, they shall send representatives to the rabbi of the court. He shall determine how the taxes are to be imposed, and the community must follow his decision.

A community in which no wine tax has previously existed doesn’t have to establish one if a majority opposes it. The majority must be calculated both by number of people and by the amount of wealth they represent.

Tax evasion

Every year, during the morning service on the Sabbath between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, each community shall pronounce a strict ban accompanied by ten curses. It shall be directed against anyone who evades taxes that he or she is legally required to pay or helps another person evade them.

Approval of new taxes

Some communal officers announce meetings in such a calculated manner that only the people they favor attend. They then adopt whatever ordinances they please, although an ordinance isn’t binding unless it has been accepted by the community or its majority.

Any ordinance adopted in this manner shall be invalid. For an ordinance imposing a tax, those present must represent a majority of the taxpayers appearing on the three most recent tax rolls as well as a majority of the community’s taxable wealth.

When a matter can wait until the Sabbath, the proposed meeting and the subject to be discussed must be announced publicly in every place of prayer while the Torah scroll remains in the ark. Community members will then have an opportunity to attend, protect their interests or freely waive their right to participate.

If the matter can’t wait until the Sabbath but can wait until Monday or Thursday, the announcement may be made at the service on one of those days. For a matter that can’t wait until then, notice may be given at an ordinary morning or evening service.

In an emergency that can’t wait for an announcement at prayer, the communal clerk shall visit the homes of a majority of the community’s members and taxpayers. Deliberations may begin after everyone has been allowed enough time to reach the meeting.