exorbitant taxes and heavy levies ❍ 头会箕敛,以供军费,财匮力尽,民不聊生。(《史记·张耳陈余列传》)〔The Qin Dynasty〕exacted exorbitant taxes and heavy levies to meet its military expenditure so that the whole country was drained of its resources and the people lived in dire poverty.