Tax absurdities, or the strangest taxes in the world

Legislators, and in past years various types of law-making bodies, beginning with Roman senators, by mayors, administrators, provincial rulers, kings and emperors, do not cease in attempts to establish ever new forms or types of taxation. In principle, they often have a specific objective, which is financed by the revenue of individual taxes, but mostly serve to balance the budget.

The main purpose of the author of this article was to create a review of various kinds of absurd or ridiculous ideas related to the taxes imposed.

As far as possible, with each example mentioned, the author sought to point to a broader context of such a tax rather than another. Contrary to popular opinion, often introduced taxes have some meaning, or although its origin, and a specific purpose. Although it is worth noting that it is not always aimed at the welfare of those paying it. It is often associated with social, industrial or cultural changes.

Taxes in historic fumes of absurdity

Taxes accompany humanity practically from the beginning of its existence, and certainly from the beginning of the community. We know that already in ancient Egypt farmers have paid taxes in agricultural crops, craftsmen by transferring parts of their products to the military and administration and merchants by paying tribute.

According to the Old Testament, the Israelites paid taxes in the form of tithes from all their possessions for the purposes of the Order[1]. Even the construction of Noah’s ark, according to the Bible, was covered by the introduction of self-taxation and a principal tax set at half a shekel and charged all men above 20 years[2] . The Bible also indicates first tax rules to limit "tax fraud"[3].

Already in ancient times, the principles of taxation have been laid down, bearing in mind both universality and justice, two the pillars of current tax concepts. Also, ancient philosophers did not refrain from commenting on tax matters. Living at the turn of the first and second centuries B.C.E. Cicero finally said that "taxes are a spring of the state".

Taxes are sometimes introduced not only to enrich the treasury, but also to shape certain social attitudes or cultural changes. This was the goal of Tsar Peter and the Great in the 17th[4]. As first from Russian tsars traveling abroad he chose an interesting form of travel.

Under the alias of Piotr Mikhailov, he led a Russian diplomatic mission called the Great Message, during which he visited the powers of Western European countries, including the Reich States, the Netherlands and England.

Fascinated by their technical achievements, organisation and social relations, he decided, based on the experience of travel from years 1697-1698, modernize Tsarsk Russia. one from the proposed solutions was the introduction of a beard tax.

According to the legend, Peter the Great liked fashion on wigs more than beards, so he wanted to push such cultural changes in his homeland. It is known, however, that the easiest way to do this is by hitting your pockets rather than by the head. The tax rate was different depending on the beard holder status.

Persons associated with the imperial court, military or government paid 60 rubli per year. For wealthy merchants the fee was 100 roublis annually, while other merchants and townspeople also paid 60 rubli.

It is worth noting that the people of Moscow paid 30 roublis per year, while peasants were charged a tax of two And half a kopecka[5] , Every time they came into town. The Czar gave special instructions and permissions to force the police to apply these provisions.

Namely, they had the opportunity to force and publicly shave the beard to men who refused to pay the tax. The proof of the tax was a special copper or silver ‘token for beard’.

Russian token for beard with 1705 r., worn as proof that the owner paid the beard tax imposed by Peter the Great

The unforeseen effect of this tax was to make the token a symbol of financial and social status. For only those who could afford to pay the tax could wear it. It is suspected that the main purpose of the reform was to weaken the influence of the church among the boyars, since in those days there was a belief that wearing a beard was a religious requirement. This tax was eventually abolished in 1772 r.

The idea of Peter the Great probably came from Britain. However, there is no documentation to support this fact. However, it is mentioned by William Andrews in his book “At the Sign of the Barber’s Pole: Studies in Hirsute History”, from 1904 Apparently Henry VIII in 1535 r.

established this tax while at the same time exempting himself from it. The fee initially depended on the wealth of the holder of the beard.

one of popular theories, attempting to explain the lack of documentation related to this tax, is the link between fashion to grow a beard among the nobles of that period, which correlated often with their wealth.

Thus, the emergence of the national term "beard tax" could simply be a simplified term for the population as one of the complex Tudor tax reforms.

Remaining on British taxes, in 1696 a window tax was introduced there. Its objective was to introduce tax dependent on taxpayers' wealth. It was due to social resistance, which appeared in attempts to introduce income tax.

Strangely, this resistance was not due to fiscal reasons, but it was believed that the government's insight into personal issues of annual income was a violation of civic privacy. The tax consisted of two parts.

first The rate was flat and was two shillings per house, whereas second was dependent on the number of windows above ten On the house. Houses with the number of windows between ten a twenty taxed at an additional rate four shillings and those with more windows at stake eight shillings[6] .

It was paid by tenant, not the owner of the building. This tax has changed over the years until its cancellation in 1851 r. As an interesting thing to add, a similar tax was designed in Scotland by William Pitt the Younger.

The window tax carefully examined by Adam Smith in his famous work on the richness of nations: “The number of windows can be counted most frequently from the outside, and in any case there is no need to enter every room.

Tax on windows currently in force (January 1775), out of charge third shillings from every house in England, and one shilling in Scotland, imposes on each window a fee increasing gradually from 2 pence, which represents the lowest tax rate on houses that have no more than seven windows – until two shillings – the highest rate applicable to homes by twenty five and more windows’[7].

Britain has quite a rich history of strange construction taxes. Another idea was to introduce a brick tax in 1784 r., announced to cover the cost of losing the war to American colonies, known as the United States Independence War. It was tried in earlier years to implement it, but it was faced with resistance from the British Parliament.

Opponents claimed that this tax would mainly affect the poor because the rich as the main building block used stone and marble. Soon, however, the growing popularity of brick in Britain allowed a given tax to be introduced. The taxed bricks contained an excise print burned during the last treatment thanks to an appropriate mould.

The rate was initially 2 shillings and 6 pence for one thousand brick, but quickly, because in 1805 increased to 5 shillings and 10 Pence. Entrepreneurial British found a way to reduce fiscal burdens by increasing brick sizes almost twice[8] .

Of course, Parliament responded by introducing regulations limiting the size of bricks produced to the dimension 254 mm × 127 mm × 76 mm and the introduction of a double cabling of bricks exceeding these conditions.

Finally, this tax was abolished in 1850 r., which resulted in an unforeseen effect in the form of a construction boom and a distinctive “cereal” appearance of the cities of the Victorian era.

Although Britain has a vastly rich tradition of "taxing everything that comes into the eye", one The strangest taxes in history have not been introduced there.

What could have been more strange than the taxes mentioned above, as well as taxes on the number of hats held, taxes on the production of candles, glass and glass, wall wallpaper tax, taxes on the possession of ovens and taxes on cowardice?9 These are taxes on sleep, having children, singing, drumming, ringing bells, or dancing at a wedding.

These taxes were introduced by the far-reaching turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Thubten Gyatso. They were only a fraction of almost two hundred various kinds of labour and serfdom taxes imposed by the Tibetan authorities called Gaxag[10].

Tax absurdities of the West (and more)

The imposition of strange taxes, or their continuation, is not just a distant area of history. Many of these solutions can be seen even today. Both west and east of the borders of Poland, in the case of state-wide, federal and local taxes.

The latter could be a solar tax. one its variant is valid in the town of Essen in western Germany, where the owners of solarium pay 20 EUR A month for every bed you have. A similar tax was established in the United States during the administration of President Obama, but in this case it is borne by users.

Any citizen wishing to improve his tan must pay a fee of 10% the price of the service. This solution is one from harmful taxes, called sin tax. Another regional tax is introduced in Wallonia, one from Belgian regions, barbecue tax. The residents must be escorted 20 EUR tax on any such case.

It does not matter whether the dishes are meaty or vegetarian.

Initially, the regional tax was invented in the United States with a winning tax. It was initiated by the state of California, imposing it on basketball game winners. Interestingly, the existence of the tax began with the Chicago Bulls winning from the Los Angeles Lakers. Is it a form of rematch? A similar charge soon introduced 40 other U.S. states. Within two years The Treasury has supplied the amount almost 102,000,000 USD. This caused the tax to be extended also to other sports disciplines.

The category of state taxes includes, among others, the tax on swimming pools as luxury goods which must be paid by private persons in Greece. The tax offices began using drones to track dishonest taxpayers. In response, the Greeks began covering the pools with grass-colored tarps[11].

A rather controversial solution, for both moral and legal reasons, was introduced in Bonn and Cologne, Germany. It's a prostitution tax. In these cities, this type of service is strictly regulated in legal terms, and the Bonn authorities have even provided special slots on the streets of the city where it can be regulated.

A prostitute may be employed on the basis of an employment contract as well as provide services in the course of her business. If he works full time, he must pay a tax of 150 EUR A month. In the case of part-time work, the tax 6 EUR For every day of work.

In this case there will be no temptation in Polish tax authorities to use similar solutions. In Poland prostitution itself is not illegal, although it is illegal to benefit from other people's prostitution or prostitution.[12].

The Director of National Tax Information also confirmed this[13], establishing that, as ineligible to be subject to a legally effective contract, the harlot is not subject to income tax.

An amazing solution was introduced In one of the poorest countries in the world, New Guinea. Its inhabitants must pay a tax for a year survived without armed conflicts. E "Peace, like almost all the affairs of this world, has its price, high but measurable"[14], It is surprising that such a valuable thing has been “valued” at 17 EUR A year.

However, the name of the tax itself is more strange than its regulations. This is the case, for example, in the case of the skills development tax, which is the so-called SDL. It is used in South Africa, but, contrary to its name, it is not carried by ambitious workers and citizens wishing to enrich their CV with new skills.

This is simply a collection from employers, 1% the total amount of all wages and the funds thus obtained are allocated to skills development, particularly among the black populations affected by apartheid.

Other taxes worth mentioning include:

• • tax on informal unions – i.e. the Chinese way to concubinet,
• • tax on eating wooden chopsticks – that is, reducing the use of these disposable products in China to reduce logging[15],
• • tax on belly dance – or Egyptian belly dance tax, • shadow tax – imposed on Venetian restaurateurs,
• • dust tax – invented by the Government of Armenia and paid according to the size of the apartment,
• • tax on cow gases – that is Estonian idea for ecology,
• • sausage tax – but not a regular one, just a classic German Curry-Wurst[16],
• • tattoo and piercing tax in the USA,
• • witch tax – although Romanian legislation does not require fiscal funds from them.

And many, many others...

Poles have no geese and their absurdities

What does it look like about Vistula? In this respect, it can be said that Polish legislators do not differ so much from foreign legislators. Historically absurd ideas were a few, including the widely known frivolous, i.e. tax on chimneys of houses, or bulls, which could be interpreted as a tax on childlessness and bachelorhood.

This was not a separate tax per se, but an increase in income tax paid by children, unmarried and unmarried, initially above 21. of the year of age and of 1973 above 25. years of age. Interestingly, this name probably came from a fee in the 16th century and paid to the owner of the bull for covering the cow[17].

There is also an interesting tax solution today. one of them is an air tax, also commonly referred to as a climate tax. It is not overburdening the pockets of the taxpayer, but it is difficult to resist the impression that taxation of something so necessary for life as air can only cause unfavorable comments.

Rate of this fee in 202118 maximum 4.66 PLN from a person for accommodation in a town with spa status, 3.39 PLN in a village with the status of a spa area and 2.41 PLN others. So, a two-week vacation in a spa in Świnoujście for a three-man family is the cost of a row 170.52 PLN.

Fortunately, or unfortunate, it is collected locally mainly by cities and municipalities living from tourism, while the tax itself is added to the residence fee charged by hotels and guesthouses. Thus, in most Poland, citizens can enjoy (low quality) air without paying tax.

Air production means can also be taxed, which, in the light of the above example, would be wood and a forest tax. In this case, owners, owners and users of the forest are taxed, while the tax base is a hectare of land. Its amount shall be calculated on the basis of monetary equivalent 0.22 m3 of wood, calculated according to the average sales of wood obtained by forestry first three quarters of the year preceding the tax year[19].

Apart from taxes, Poland also has an interesting excise history, i.e. taxes on certain types of products. Apart from the classic, known to us excise duties on alcohol, cigarettes or cars, in the old days the tax included yeast, acetic acid or even lighters or playing cards.[20]. Although most of these fees concerned years 30. the previous century, i.e. the interwar period, but the excise duty on cards to play was abolished only In 2009.[21].

We usually pay the tax on our decisions. Some kind of behavior that creates a tax obligation. But can you tax something independent of human will? Apparently so, because in Poland the rain tax was also introduced[22]. Although in this case its name is stranger than the tax base itself, because contrary to first It is not paid for precipitation. Its burden is mainly borne by the entrepreneur, since, according to the law, the water service charge, as defined in the legal language, is borne for ‘decreasing natural territorial retention as a result of the performance on land with an area above 3500 m2 works or construction works permanently linked to the ground, affecting the reduction of this retention by excluding more than 70% biologically active land area in areas not covered by open or closed sewage systems’[23]. The rates in this case are as follows:[24]:

• • without water retention devices from sealed surfaces permanently connected with the ground - 1 PLN for 1 m2 from 1 year,
• • with water retention equipment from sealed surfaces of a capacity up to 10% annual outflow from sealed surfaces permanently connected with the ground - 0.6 PLN for 1 m2 from 1 year,
• • with water retention equipment from sealed surfaces of a capacity from 10 to 30% annual outflow from sealed surfaces permanently connected with the ground - 0.3 PLN for 1 m2 from 1 year,
• • with water retention equipment from sealed surfaces of a capacity above 30% annual outflow from sealed surfaces permanently connected with the ground - 0.1 PLN for 1 m2 from 1 year

The public consultation is currently proposing changes to this fee, which may increase the number of entities responsible for paying this tax, by changing the threshold to 600 m2 and 50% construction.

Another interesting example is the tax on having a dog. It varies in each municipality as it is determined separately. Its maximum value is 130.3 PLN per year[25].

In the current state of the law, this date has been improved anyway, as from 1 January 2008 municipalities have the option to decide to charge these fees, while from 1985 This tax was paid by all obliged persons.

This is therefore a return to the still earlier optional regulations introduced by the Resolution of the National Council in the times of the Polish People's Republic.

Initially, this fee was to be charged to provide free vaccination for the beloved four-legged. Currently this relief has been abolished, but the maximum limit is almost annually increased, as shown in the table below. So, what is the explanation for the need to pay this tax, and why is this only affecting dog owners? Only legislators can answer this question[26].

Finally, it is worth mentioning, slightly insisting on certain definitions, a real championship in terms of taxation, or tax. We are, of course, talking about the excise products, which are taxed and additionally VATed.

It does not require a specialist to note that excise duty, which consists of a net price on fuel distributors, is also taxed. This is therefore causing a situation in which we pay a turnover tax on excise duty. This is not a strictly Polish concept, because many countries apply the same solutions, and it cannot be denied finesse.

Summary No above exhaustive to the least extent questions of strange and unprecedented forms and tax ideas.

It is worth noting, however, that although the vast part of the current taxes is actually unusual, the amount of their burden is rather low for a single citizen, and the revenue to the budget derives rather from the universality of such taxation. There seems to be nothing in the world untaxable.

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1 Leviticus 27:30; Numbers Book 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24;

2 Book of Chronicles 31:5, [in:] The Millennium Bible. Poznań, 2003, 2 Fr Z. Ziwica, History and Value of the Biblical Temple Tax, Ełckie Wytuki Theological Studies. Theological Institute of the Ełtsk Diocese 2001, t. 2, p. 343

3 Book of Exodus 30:15 „The rich shall not increase, and the poor shall not reduce the weight of half a shekel, to offer a sacrifice to the Lord for the atonement of his life."

4 He ruled in years 1682-1725

5 Small coin equals 1/100 ruble

6 XVII–XVIII w. shilling was equivalent 6.99 GBP In 2019 according to the UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). „The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorld. Retrieved 2 February 2020

7 Smith A., Research on the Cause of the Rich Nations. Volume II, PWN, 1954, p. 615.

8 Called colloquially from entrepreneur and brick producer Joseph Wilkes, Wilkes’ gobs and had dimensions (230 mm × 110 mm × 110 mm).

9 It was in England during Henry I's time and allowed men to redeem themselves from military service. He was a good way for the king to provide war funds, for he was also collected in times of peace. It bore the name “Scoutage” derived from the Latin word shield—scutum.

10 https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cegv/eng/premade/60544/History16.htm

11 They hide the pools from the tax, access. 26 September 2021: https://tvn24.pl/biznes/najnowsze/ukrywaja-baseny-przed-fiskusem-ra133999-4392155

12 Article 204 Act dated 6 June 1997 Criminal Code (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1444 as amended).

13 Individual interpretation of the Director of KIS dated 27 August 2019 No. 0112-KDIL3-2.4011.299.2019.1.TR.

14 Joseph Beck (1894–1944) – Polish politician, diplomat, military colonel.

15 Every year you cut out 25,000,000 trees to produce 45,000,000,000 a pair of disposable chopsticks.

16 The most interesting thing was that the tax of the famous Polish People's Republic of Poland could be applied to it because the amount of tax depended on the eating position. https://www.money.pl/gospodarka/wiadomosci/artykul/niemcy;chca;wyrownac;podatki;bo;kielbasa;jedzona;na;siedzaco;jest;drozsza ,58,0,1150522.html

17 Information about the return of this tax increased after the report of the Republic of Poland, which reached one from classified government documents. In response, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Administration turned away from this idea https://www.rp.pl/Praca-emerytury-renty/306249945-MSWiA-obecnie-nie-planujemy-opodatkowac-bezdzietnych.html

18 According to the notice of the Minister of Finance dated 23 July 2020 on the upper limits of the amounts of local taxes and charges per year 2021 (M. P. of 2020 item 673).

19 Article 4(1) Act dated 30 October 2002 on forest tax (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2019, item 888 as amended).

20 The European Union continues to allow excise duty on playing cards.

21 Act dated 6 December 2008 on excise duty (Journal of Laws, item 11) no longer anticipated card-to-game excise duties

22 Introduced from 1 January 2018 based on Act dated 20 July 2017 Water law (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2021, item 624 as amended

23 Article 269 the above Act

24 Article 274(6) the above Act

25 Article 19 Act dated 12 January 1991 on local taxes and charges (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1170 as amended).

26 A little insight into this issue may have a fragment of the justification for the government's bill to amend the Act on Local Taxes and Fees and to amend some other laws from 2006: „In the current state of the law, the tax on the holding of dogs is compulsory.

Therefore, the municipalities must collect tax even if the costs of collecting it are far above the receipts of this revenue to the municipality's budget.

However, given that In 2005 income from the tax on the holding of dogs was around 14,600,000 PLN, there is no justification for eliminating this tax without introducing another benefit.”