Winston Churchill oncewrote , “ We contend that for a body politic to taste to assess itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucketful and examine to lift himself up by the handle . ” Wise words , as would be expected from such a man . But history is full of kings and government activity who have try just that , no matter how leaky the bucket .
1. Cooking Oil
The Pharaohs of ancient Egyptdidn’t mess aroundwhen it came to tax their subject . Tax nonpayment or inaccurate declarations were penal by flogging or end , and an regular army of scribe was tax with check taxes were paid on everything from grain to beer to enchant along the Nile . And if any brave , budget - conscious individual thought that reusing misrepresent oil was a good idea , they had better watch out for the scribes . The recycling of cooking oil colour was against the jurisprudence , and the scribes would search homes for used oil . If receive , they ’d propose a stern warning and force the householder to buy freshoil , and to pay the appropriate revenue enhancement .
2. Urine
Urine collectors were a common sight in thepublic toiletsof Ancient Rome . The ammonia water - rich urinewas usedin a number of process , including lashing , woolen yield , the cleansing and lightening of woolen toga , and the whitening of teeth . So when the Emperor Vespasian needed to top his coffers , he resolve to slapa taxon urine , to be paid by all purchasers of public piss . The Latin phrasePecunia non olet(“money does not stink ” ) , which is still used today , is attributed to Vespasian . He died in 79 CE during a bout of explosive diarrhea , whileincongruously muttering , “ Dear me , I think I ’m becoming a god . ”
3. Cowards
If a knight in medieval England had good things to do than go push in another warfare , he could pay what was known asscutage . Sometimes called the “ Noel Coward tax , ” this payment allowed the horse to skip military service on a particular campaign . King John , who reigned from 1199 to 1216 , famously abused this tax , often demand it even when the rural area was not at war .
4. Bachelors
When Augustus , the first Emperor of Rome , brought his particular stigma of piousness into play , some undivided men found themselves out of favor . While Augustus rewarded families with three or more children ( boy , preferably ) , unmarried man of 38 yr or older were hit with abachelor tax , as well as being banned from serve public games . With theLex Julia de maritandis ordinibus , the emperor also disallow childless marriages and celibacy . Similar taxis have been impose throughout history . In 1695 , the English parliamenttaxed bachelorsover 25 years old and childless widowers . From 1941 to 1990 , theSoviet Uniontaxed bachelor , single people , and small families in an endeavour to battle declining demographics .
5. Enemies
WhenOliver Cromwellruled the British Isles as Lord Protector ( 1653 to 1658 ) , he had a problem with pesky royalist . To keep them in check , he needed to raise militia . To pay for the militias , he came up with a novel solution : He wouldtax his enemy . He slapped a 10 percent income revenue enhancement , known as the “ decimation revenue enhancement , ” on the Royalists , arguing that it was entirely free . After all , the reserves would n’t need funding in the first topographic point were it not for the conspirative Royalists .
6. Beards
It ’s often take thatKing Henry VIIIof England introduced atax on beards , despite there being no records to raise it . Russia ’s Peter the Great , however , did place a taxation on hisbearded matter . In 1698 , in a tender to bring Russia up to speed with Western Europe ’s vogue for cleaner shave , he imposed an one-year whiskers revenue enhancement . His wretched subjects were allowed to wear a whiskers for just two kopeks a twelvemonth , while wealthy citizens had to bear 100 rubles . Bearded tax - dodgers could be forcibly shaved by the police , while those who paid the tax were given a cop token to carry , which prove that their whiskers was full pay for .
7. Windows
Thewindow taxwas first implemented in Britain in 1696 , as a way to revenue enhancement citizens based on their assumed riches . More window intend a tumid home , and the possessor would therefore have to compensate more taxes than a poorer person in a smaller habitation with fewer windows . In possibility , it made some sense , but it did n’t work as well as design . The definition of a windowpane complicate matters , and some people were taxed for a variety of wall - based opening that hardly dependant as windows . Other householder simply bricked up their window to forefend paying the revenue enhancement . This lead to health issues , with pathetic Light Within and ventilating system localize resident physician at greater risk of typhus , smallpox , andcholera . The tax was finally repealed in 1851 .
8. Pretty Much Everything in the Georgian Era
Just as hoi polloi had finished bricking up their window at the start of the 18th century , along descend the Georgian era anda spate of taxeslike no other . The Georgians ostensibly slapped taxes on anything they could to pay off Britain ’s state of war debt [ PDF ] : brick , taper , clocks and watches , gin rummy , glass , hats , wallpaper , medicine , play cards , and goop .
This story originally ran in 2021 ; it has been updated for 2022 .
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