To earn a certain amount of money and then pay half of it as tax is an excruciating topic most people cringe at the thought of. However, we are deemed to pay the amount for the governing of the state in a polite manner. The tax payment process is one of the oldest systems our ancestors and now have been dealing with.
In earlier civilizations, too, tax implementation was livid and compulsory.
However, there used to be numeral forms of taxing, some of which were bizarre in nature. Some of these implementations were curbed over the period of time, and some of these were greatly revolted against.
- THE URINE TAX
Rome has always been an empire with uncanny history. The lifestyle of the gone empires still runs a trail of curiosity and immense amazement to us. To add to those fragments, the Roman emperor Vespasian placed a tax on urine in the 1st century AD. The tax required the buyers of urine to pay the tax. The urine gathered from public urinals was sold as an ingredient to process leather tanning. The launderers also sold Urine as a source of ammonia to clean and starch woolen togas, etc.
- THE BREAST TAX
Over 200 hundred years ago, when the caste system and simultaneously based racism were thriving in every corner of India, the kings of higher castes levied a tax on women of the lower castes. Since the lower caste people were condemned from covering their bodies with fabric or any other form of clothing material, they were asked to peregrinate naked. The tax was based on the size of a woman’s breast. The ridiculous system dictated that the larger the breast size, the higher the amount of tax had to be paid. This discrimination caused immense psychological trauma to the people of Kerala, where the system was affluent.
- THE SLAVE TAX
Freedom comes with a tip! In the early years of Rome, slaves were often freed by their masters after a certain period of time. This was possible only if the slaves could pay a huge ransom to their masters to buy away themselves. Often, the slaves worked at multiple places during their meager free time to earn money to pay their masters. After the payment was negotiated, the slaves were further asked to pay a tax to the empire.
- THE CARD TAX
Not all games are fun and free. In the early 16th century, playing cards were taxed. The tax amount deliberately escalated in 1710 when the English government profusely raised taxes on playing cards and dice. The tax was removed in 1960 since forgeries were made of cards not to pay heavy taxes.
- TAX ON FIREPLACE
England, too like Rome, had had a history of unusual and unnecessary tax planning. In the year 1660, the government of the king levied taxes on fireplaces. Thus, to hide from paying these taxes, people started to cover up their fireplaces with a mount of bricks. The implementation was abolished in 1969.
- JIZYA
The historic tax known as Jizya was a mandatory tax payment according to the holy book of Quran. The tax was due to be paid by non-Muslim residents under an Islamic state as a fee for their protection by the state. The tax was a form of tenet which was levied on the Jews, Hindus, and Christians. Muslims were excluded from paying the Jizya.
- THE WINDOW TAX
In 1669 again, the government of England started to levy taxes on the number of windows a single house comprised. The calculated tax thus increased according to the growing number of windows. People then started to conceal or destroy the windows, which further led to claustrophobia and illnesses. The tax was uplifted in 1850.
- THE CANDY TAX
Your sweet tooth cravings can cause you to pay high taxes in Chicago. The country taxes flour-based candies at the rate of 1 % and levies a 6.25% tax on goodies that are not flour-based.
There are other forms of such absurdities hidden among the pages of history, some of which are ticklish to the current society to fight against such anomalies. In contrast, some of these old traditions are shocking and raise a debatable set of questions on a long-gone biased and inhuman civilization of the past.
Last Updated on by Sathi
Top Comments