The most incredible taxes
Back in the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin said that nothing is inevitable in life except death and taxes. Moreover, the latter appeared long before the phrase was uttered by the famous politician. The need to collect taxes arose when the first states began to take shape.
Initially, fees were levied on the ownership of land, livestock and workers. But the needs of the state grew, and with them more and more strange, and sometimes even ridiculous taxes appeared. Emperor Vespasian ordered that a fee be levied in Rome for the use of public toilets, in Byzantium there was a tax on air, which the owners of expensive houses were obliged to pay, and in Bashkiria in the 17th century a tax on eye color was introduced.
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1. Tax on toilets
The Roman emperor Vespasian, who ruled in the 70s of our era, introduced such a tax, for which he was reproached by his own son, who was against such a tax. But Vespasian took the money that was "earned" by this tax and brought it to his son's nose. What do you think he said while doing this? Yes, yes, “money does not smell”. Indeed, the Romans were so accustomed to marble public toilets that they continued to go there and pay money for it.
2. Freedom tax
In ancient Rome, there was a so-called free tax (manumission), which had to be paid in the event of the release of the owner of his slave. In some cases, the owner himself paid this tax, as it was assumed that he was rich enough to set the slave free. In the majority of cases, this tax was paid by the emancipated person himself! Imagine - a slave paid a large sum for his emancipation, became a free worker, and then it turns out that he must pay Rome a sum for being free.
3. Teeth tax
The East is a delicate matter, and even taxes here have their own unique features. The Ottoman Empire was famous for the revelry of the all-powerful bureaucracy, which constantly raised its own standard of living, not at all caring about the common people. In particular, the local bureaucrats were not very happy with the food in the canteens of their departments, as the meat was tough and undercooked, and too many sweets were served for dessert. This led to problems with teeth, officials suffered from caries, and the services of Ottoman dentists were very expensive. Therefore, all the hardships were shifted to the population, ordering to pay a tax on the wear of the teeth of statesmen.
4. Bath tax
Peter I came up with and introduced a tax on baths. In 1704, a decree was issued, according to which the first-class merchants and duma assessors gave 3 rubles from home baths, poor merchants - 1 ruble each, and peasant people - 15 kopecks.
5. Shadow Tax
Yes, intangible objects can also be taxed. So, in Venice, such a tax was introduced in 1993, that is, quite recently. According to the tax, all establishments have to pay, the shade from whose umbrellas and awnings falls on urban lands. It is clear that the shadow is very difficult to remove, so the tax brings quite a lot of money to the treasury of Venice.
6. Tax on the sun
In the early 2000s, solar levy was introduced in the Balearic Islands. A tax on the sun was imposed on all tourists coming to the archipelago. Travelers arriving at the popular resorts of Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca and other islands must pay €1 daily for staying here. The authorities use the funds raised from the sun tax to improve tourism infrastructure, such as cleaning up beaches and the coastal zone from garbage, as well as restoring the local ecological balance. It is worth noting that in 2012, 10.4 million foreign tourists visited the Balearic Islands, so the revenue from the sun tax to the treasury turned out to be very significant.
7 Dust Tax
A very interesting tax was recently introduced by the Armenian authorities. Everyone who owns a living space is obliged to pay two drams (about fifteen kopecks) for each square meter. The Ministry of Economy of Armenia has decided that the population is obliged to pay the costs of dust removal. It doesn't matter if the house is clean or not. The tax must be paid.
8. Tax on plaster
Austria is known for its ski resorts, where a huge number of tourists from all over the world come to relax every year. And since many of them often get injured while riding, the authorities were not enough to pay for the compulsory medical insurance of each tourist, which went entirely to the treasury. Having calculated the annual costs of maintaining and treating unlucky skiers in medical institutions (and about 150 thousand of them are injured every year), the country's leadership decided to introduce a tax on plaster, which is included in the total cost of the tour.
9. Tax on dancing
Egypt boasts one of the most original taxes of modern times. Belly dancers must diligently replenish the state treasury with their money. This tax has a history going back centuries. Street dancers in the past paid a special tribute. The tradition was interrupted in the nineteenth century, when, under pressure from religious leaders, public dancing was banned altogether. Now the belly dance tax is the fifth largest source of income in Egypt. This art brings, according to various estimates, up to 400 million dollars a year. And one of the largest taxpayers in the country was the dancer Fifi Abdu.
10. Peace Tax
West African countries are among the poorest in the world. But despite this, their inhabitants are still taxed, some of which can be classified as very strange. Thus, the inhabitants of the Republic of Guinea, almost the entire population of which lives below the poverty line, still pay the peace tax, although no hostilities are currently taking place in the country. Every year of peaceful life costs the citizens of the country about €17, which is a very tangible amount for the Guineans. For comparison, a kilogram of coffee in the Republic of Guinea can be bought for only 50 euro cents.
Keywords: Taxes