The Roman Emperor Augustus (63 BC–14 year A.D.) paid attention on the hobbies of the Romans to give expensive gifts to friends and the transfer of their property as inheritance to strangers. It forced him to impose a five percent tax on inheritance and gifts (The vicesima hereditatium – “twentieth of inheritance”). This time taxes usually went to military spending. But the inheritance and … Read more
The first emperor of the Tang dynasty, Kao-tsu (618-626 C.E.) granted equal amounts of land to each adult male in return for taxes. Since then and during the reign of the Chinese Tang dynasty (618-907) men adults received from the Emperor the land before reaching the age of 60 had to pay a fixed tax of rice and textile. Also they had to spend … Read more
In USSR “in order to mobilize additional funds to assist mothers with several children” in November 21, 1941 was introduced a Tax on childlessness on bachelors, singles and small families and it was in force until January 1992. By establishing this tax during the war, the government demonstrated it’s displeasure with those who do not help him to secure the completion of the army. … Read more
The Hearth Tax was established in England in 1662. The reason to tax each hearth in the house than people was because it was easier and faster to count. The tax inspectors bypassed all the houses room by room in search of the hearth and collected 2 shillings per year. These inspections were entrusted to the private collectors, which were called as “pipe makers” … Read more
The Swedish tax system has the right to tax the strange name of the child, which causes discomfort in pronouncing it. Failure in a proper naming of the kids can be fined up to $770 USD. For example: “Ikea” and “Allah” are prohibited, but “Google” and “Lego” are allowed. The Swedes are the only country in the world, collecting taxes for the names. So … Read more
In 1535 the king of England Henry VIII, who himself wore a beard, imposed a tax on beards. The tax was progressive tax and depended on the social status of the taxpayer. His daughter, Elizabeth I, established this tax again, but it was related only to a 2-week beard wearer. This tax appeared in Russia too, but the reason was different : it was … Read more
The hat tax was established by the British government from 1784 to 1811 years, but only with men. The tax was introduced by the Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and was an easy way to raise money for the Treasury. It was assumed that wealthier people will have more expensive hats, while the poor just one cheap or not at all. Tax on … Read more
The window tax was an important architectural, social and cultural movement in the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and then in the UK in XVII-XVIII centuries. You may notice that some windows in some old buildings built in those days, laid bricks. This was the way to reduce taxes. This tax was introduced in 1696 by king William III. It was installed in accordance with the … Read more
The cowardice tax was a special tax which was levied against people who did not want to fight for the sake of the King (which was considered cowardice). This tax existed in England under Henry I (reigned 1100–1135) and was initially relatively low, however King John picked it up by 300% and began to take it from all of the knights in those years … Read more
The famous phrase: “money does not smell” is related to the taxes. In ancient Rome, people had to pay to use public toilets. The urine in public toilets was sold as an essential ingredient in different production processes including bleaching clothes with it. Roman emperor Vaspasian (ruled 69-79 AD) created a tax on urine. The customers who obtained an urine from the public bathrooms were … Read more
