In 1833, Vukotić introduced regular taxation to Montenegro. As Vukotić, Grujić and Njegoš all realized, without taxes the country had no chance of functioning as a centralized state, let alone one which could raise an independent army or survive without needing to rely on plunder or Russian charity. Even though the rates were low, the tribes fiercely resisted the new laws, which never managed to generate more revenue than funds received through Russian subsidies. Many chieftains refused to levy taxes against their tribes, and some even mockingly called on Njegoš to come and collect them himself.