- Pay up — for stuff you never expected you’d have to.
Two things in life are certain — death and taxes. What’s not certain is what you’ll be taxed for.
Taxes have existed probably longer than money has been a thing. Over human history, the tax authorities have wanted their share of things that make sense, but also of some that absolutely don’t.
Let’s take a look at some of the more outlandish things people have had to pay taxes for. Or, as is the case with some of these taxes, still have to.
8. Windows
A house without windows is a dark one. But in 1696, the idea of getting rid of your windows started sounding pretty good to many in England.
That’s because that year, the English window tax went into effect. The idea of paying a tax per window sounds bizarre, but there were good intentions behind it.
At first, you had to pay tax only once your house had more than 10 windows. Since only rich people owned houses like that, the window tax was an early attempt at an income tax to help the poor.
But once rich people started bricking up their windows, the window limit on the tax started dropping until everybody had to pay it. Unpopular and unfair, the window tax was finally scrapped in 1851.
7. Hats
In addition to windows, Britain wanted to tax hats. The hat tax, enacted in 1784, required all London-based hatmakers to pay an annual tax of two pounds.
Hatmakers outside London had to pay five pounds. That’s because… Honestly, we have no idea.
The law also required all hatmakers to have a sign “Dealer in Hats by Retail” above their door for identification. After paying the tax, they would get stamps they could attach to their hats to prove they were legally compliant.
And the hat tax was serious business. One John Collins received a death sentence for forging hat stamps.
6. Playing Cards
Not every weird tax belongs in the history books. In Alabama, there’s still a tax on playing cards.
Since 1935, every deck of playing cards sold in Alabama has carried a 10-cent tax. Additionally, selling playing cards in the state requires a $2 license.
We’re not sure why the tax is in place. But we probably won’t have to worry about Alabama taking Las Vegas’ place as long as the tax is in effect.
5. Clocks
England just can’t get enough of weird tax experiments. In 1797, a few years after the hat tax, the British government decided that clocks were a luxury that should be taxed.
Most clocks were taxed at a flat rate of five shillings per year. But if you had a fancy golden pocket watch, then you had to pay 10 shillings.
Needless to say, the government got barely a penny out of the tax. People simply hid their clocks in a drawer or, in the case of gold watches, swapped their casings for less precious metals.
In the end, the clock tax was repealed after less than a year. But it still managed to put a few clockmakers out of business when people stopped buying clocks.
4. Cow Farts
Several EU nations, like Denmark and Ireland, do not stomach flatulence. They have in place legislation that taxes farmers for the gases their cows spew into the air.
The point of the tax is to combat climate change. Weird as it is, cows produce a lot of methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas.
The fart tax rate depends on the specific EU country. In Ireland, it stands at $18 per cow, while in Denmark, farmers have to pay a ridiculous $110 fart tax per cow every year.
3. Beards
Peter the Great, one of the most famous Russian czars, was hellbent on modernizing his country. But his vision of a modern Russia ran into an obstacle — Russians really loved their beards.
Peter couldn’t stomach beards. He considered western Europe the pinnacle of civilizations, and the westerners were usually clean-shaven, unlike the average Russian man at the time.
Every bearded man was required to carry a beard token to prove he had paid his annual tax. If he didn’t have the token, he lost his beard — potentially along with his head.
2. Untethered Hot Air Balloons
Kansas boasts one of the most bizarre tax laws in the U.S., and possibly in the entire world. But this rule isn’t about what’s taxed — it’s about what’s not.
In Kansas, “any place providing amusement, entertainment, or recreation services” must pay a sales tax. That includes hot air balloons since the state considers them entertaining.
However, if the hot air balloon isn’t tethered to the ground, it’s considered an aircraft. According to U.S. federal regulations, states can’t tax traveling airplanes.
This leads to a bizarre situation where a hot air balloon doesn’t have to pay the amusement tax — as long as it’s legitimately traveling somewhere. But if you tie it down to the ground, that tax exemption disappears.
Maybe it’s a good thing Dorothy missed the balloon ride out of Oz.
1. Chinese People
Back in the day, the Canadians didn’t like the Chinese. To discourage immigration from China, the Canadian government enacted a tax on Chinese people.
From 1885 onward, anyone immigrating from China to Canada had to pay a tax of $50 — a lot of money at the time. In 1900, the tax rose to $100, and in 1903, to $500.
Yet the Chinese kept wanting to go to Canada. So, in 1923, Canada banned all immigration from China.
And that law stood until 1967.
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