Ten Truly Outrageous Taxes

“Nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

True, the two are inseparable. However, sometimes the general public has reason to be upset about taxes, especially when they are as outrageous and bizarre as these ten stipulations.

Card Tax

The card tax demonstrates a trend in which taxes are often initiated after an activity or product becomes so popular that the government is sure to make bank off the tax. Cards for example, were once a very popular and pleasurable activity. James I of England (16th to 17th century), once passed a law requiring an insignia on that card as proof of payment of a tax on local manufacture of cards. This law was held in effect until August 4, 1960.

Candy Tax

In September 2009, the state of Illinois decided to tax candy at a higher rate than other food. Why? Perhaps because candy is very popular and also to combat obesity. However, the only thing is appeared to combat was confusion with a “candy” item only taxable if it “contains flour or requires refrigeration.” Hence, this explanation legally classifies yogurt covered raisins as candy, but yogurt covered pretzels as food; Baby Ruth bars as candy, but Twix bars as food.

Jock Tax

Professional athletes may make a ton of money, but they are targeted to one of the more biased taxes in the United States. The income tax, which is levied against visitors to a city or state who earn money in that jurisdiction, are generally jocks since the state cannot afford to track all individuals. Why jocks? Not only are the working schedules of famous sports players public, so are their salaries.

Cowardice Tax

The cowardice tax (properly known as scutage) was a special tax levied against people who chose not to fight for the King. The tax existed under Henry I (reigned 1100–1135) and was initially relatively cheap, but then King John raised it by 300% and started charging it to all knights in years in which there were no wars. Now that’s not right.

Hat Tax

This tax was handed out by the British Government from 1784 to 1811, and yes, it did target men who wore hats. The government assumed that the majority of hat bearers were rich, and thus it would help even out the playing field in a sense. Heavy fines were given to anyone, milliner or hat wearer, who failed to pay the hat tax. Of course the only way to fight the potential sentence was, to simply not wear a hat.

Window Tax

The window tax was a significant social, cultural and architectural force in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and, then, Great Britain during the 17th and 18th centuries. The tax was introduced under the Act of Making Good the Deficiency of the Clipped Money, in 1696, under King William III, and was designed to impose tax relative to the prosperity of the taxpayer. The richest families in the kingdoms used this tax to set themselves apart from the merely rich, as they would commission a country home or a manor house whose architecture would make the maximum possible use of windows as an exercise in ostentation.

Beard Tax

In 1535, King Henry VIII of England, who ironically also sported a beard, introduced a tax to stereotype those with facial hair. wore a beard himself, introduced a tax on beards. While the tax was a graduated tax, varying with the wearer’s social position in England, Russia also introduced a similar tax because they considered beards uncultured.

Crack Tax

The “crack tax” is short for taxes on illegal drugs in Tennessee. The bizarre tax, under a law passed by the Tennessee General Assembly, in January, 2005, is applied to illegal substances such as cocaine, marijuana and moonshine. Drug dealers are required to pay anonymously at the state revenue office, where they receive a stamp to prove their payment. Thus, if a drug dealer is arrested without having a stamp, the state would seek the money owed.

Fart Tax

The scene – New Zealand, 2003. In order to combat the release of methane by farm animals which accounts for over 50% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the country, New Zealand passes a tax to finally make those pesky farm animals pay. Surprisingly, the tax did not last long and New Zealand’s government eventually gave up their ridiculous idea to tax cow’s farts.

Urine Tax

Money does not stink…or does it? “Pecunia non olet,” was coined as a result of the urine tax levied by the Roman emperors Nero and Vespasian in the 1st century. You see, the lower classes of Roman society urinated into pots which were emptied into cesspools. The liquid was then collected from public latrines, where it served as the valuable raw material for a number of chemical processes. Despite the disgusting tax, the phrase is still used to demonstrate that the value of money is not tainted by its origins.

Thanks to ListVerse.