Quirky Taxes Throughout History

Death and taxes written on human skull.Did you know that in ancient Egypt, everyone had to pay a tax on cooking oil? In addition to this, the Pharaoh had a monopoly on cooking oil, and the reuse of cooking oil was prohibited. Similar to that, the following are some craziest quirky taxes throughout history that seem really weird, strange, and unusual to me.

Pecunia non olet – Money doesn’t stink!

Imagine having to pay a tax on urine! Back in the Roman ages, in the 1st century AD, to be exact, Roman emperor Vespasian placed a tax on urine. The urine was scavenged from public urinals and sold to tanners and launderers – plus tax. (It is not known what the tanners used it for, but launderers used the ammonia in the urine to bleach togas.)

You’re free – but it’ll cost you!

Slavery was a common practice in ancient Rome, and slaves who were able to buy their freedom from their owners had to pay a tax on that freedom. As an aside, slavery was abolished under the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.

“I’m a lover, not a fighter!”

Knights who did not want to participate in wars could opt out by paying “scutage.” Although this tax wasn’t very high at first, King John raised it to a rate of 300 percent! It is said that this decision was a large factor in the creation of the Magna Carta, which limited the King’s power.

Taxes, taxes, and more taxes.

England seems to be one of the more proficient places for strange taxes.

In 1660, England established a tax on fireplaces; in 1696, it was windows – and in the 1700s, it was bricks, of all things! To save money, the English would brick up their fireplaces, include fewer windows in their homes, and build homes with larger bricks.

Another strange English tax was established in 1712 when a tax on printed wallpaper was put in place. To avoid the tax, builders would use plain wallpaper, and paint on designs after.

Read about more strange & unusual taxes throughout history and from around the world.

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Posted on April 15, 2016 by in Personal Finance

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