Annexure – II

The attitude of the Government towards the tax payer:

“Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table at which he’s fed.

Put these words upon his tomb, – “Taxes drove me to my doom”.

“When he is gone, do not relax, it is time to apply the inheritance tax.” – Anon

Annexure – III

“Nothing is certain except Death and Taxes.” – Benjamin Franklin

“No-one has ever liked paying taxes, but not all taxes are created equal. Some are decidedly more bizarre than others.” – Anon

Peculiar Taxation

Some peculiar taxes from history.

1.Body parts:

• A BEARD TAX-in the late 17th century in the reign of the Russian Tsar, Peter the Great, seeking to regulate the appearance of his subjects. In early 1500’s, French Priests Beard also taxed. In 1996, Yemen introduced ‘No-Beard’ taxed.
• A tax, in the USA, on money received from donating blood or selling body organs.
• A tax on urine in Public Baths in Roman times, as it was sold for use in other industry processes.

2.Buildings:

• Printed wall-paper was taxed from 1712, ignoring which was punishable by death. This Tax was avoided by hanging plain paper and then painting it.
• Taxes based on number of doors and windows, or sizes of doors and windows in UK from 1696 and only repealed in 1851.
• Taxes based on incomplete houses are different from completed houses in Peru, leading to houses kept incomplete.
• Taxes on individual bricks, leading to use of larger bricks, then these too were then taxed at higher rates.

3.Weather:

• Around the 1800’s a tax on the wind by windmill owners paid to the local landlord, who would then not permit trees and taller buildings around the windmills.
• Tax on rain water harvested and collected for own use or for commercial purposes in Australia.
• Acreage based tax on solar power facilities in California.

4.Other items:

• Tax on playing card decks and dice in England from the 1600’s to 1960 and also, in Austria and the USA.
• Fringe Benefits Taxation as introduced and subsequently withdrawn by the Finance Minister Shri Chidambaram.
• Tax on salt (gabelle) in France and also in India. The great Indian salt hedge to prevent salt manufacture and tax it. Ended with Gandhi’s Dandi salt march.
• European tax on soap for a long time, it was finally repealed in Great Britian in 1835.
• In England tax on fireplaces.
• Tax on hats in 1784, and on any head-gear in 1804, repealed in 1811.
• Tax on candles and prohibition on making candles in UK in 1789, repealed in 1831.
• Missouri State, in USA once charged an annual ‘Bachelor tax’ to single men aged 21 to 50.
• Cow flatulence tax in some EU nations and Ireland since 2003.
• Baby names taxes in Sweden.
• Professional tax in India on professionals, traders and employees.
• Knowledge tax in Britain from 1815, repealed in1855.
• Clock tax for all timepieces in Britain in 1797, later repealed.

Note: All such taxes were deemed as rightful by those people, or the politicians / governments, in power in those times. Obviously, even such stupidity was then justified. Let’s now not make similar mistakes at the behest of those envious people and parties with other interests in mind.

JAI BHARAT! – JAI HIND!

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