Tolls on beards, bagels and body modification – history is littered with bizarre taxes. Here we round up a few of the more questionable taxes from the past and present.

In his 1796 Farewell Address to the Nation, President George Washington spoke about a number of issues still threatening the young nation — involvement in foreign wars, the dangers of political parties, and the uncomfortable necessity of taxing the public:

It is essential that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the payment of debts there must be Revenue; that to have Revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised, which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant.

Washington was prescient in noting that the public should only be taxed for “proper objects…which the public exigencies may at any time dictate.” Not all legislators and rulers have followed this maxim. Here we round up a few of the more questionable taxes across history.

Beard Tax

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In 1697, Tsar of Russia Peter the Great traveled to Western Europe incognito in order to strengthen alliances with other countries against the Ottoman Empire. After 18 months of travel, Peter returned to Russia determined to modernize the country along western lines. One of the biggest changes occurred when Peter shaved his beard… and demanded everyone else follow suit. Peasants and priests were exempted, but all other grown men had to shave their traditionally long beards. Anyone who didn’t was forced to pay a 100 ruble fine and carry around a small coin noting that the beard tax had been paid along with the motto “the beard is a superfluous burden.” In addition to beards, Peter imposed taxes on beehives, horse collars, hats, boots, basements, chimneys, food, clothing, birth, marriage, burial and even souls.

Flatulence Tax
In 2002, New Zealand signed on to the Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations treaty designed to combat global warming. The following year, the ruling Labour Party attempted to raise NZ$8.4 million ($6.5 million) to study the effects of naturally produced methane and nitrous oxide, which are theorized to be a primary cause of global warming. However, the revenue was supposed to come from livestock farmers, whose farm animals’ flatulence was suspected of supplying 90 percent of all methane emissions in New Zealand. The levy was never passed because a livestock industry group agreed to pay for a portion of the research, as long as they weren’t taxed.

Bagel Tax

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Like the rest of the country, the recent recession hit New York hard. To raise revenue, legislators in Albany targeted a vice they knew many New Yorkers couldn’t give up: the bagel. If you buy whole bagels at a supermarket and slice and prepare them at home, you’re avoiding the bagel tax. But if you want to buy a bagel sliced and prepared at a store before a Broadway play or a Yankees game? Fuhgeddaboudit: That’s 8¢ extra.

Body Modification Tax
Did you find out that Chinese character on your back doesn’t mean “dream” like you thought? Did Lucille dump you after you got her name inked on your bicep? Even though tattoos are advertised as permanent, some people don’t seem to think it through before going under the needle. Well, Arkansas residents can now add another downside: All body modifications, including tattoos, piercings and even electrolysis treatments, are subject to a 6 percent sales tax.

Urine Tax

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Urine was a hot commodity in Ancient Rome. A primary source of ammonia, urine was used in leather tanning, laundering and bleaching. Rumor has it urine was also used in Spain as a teeth whitener. Anyone who bought the urine from the public latrines paid the vectigal urinae (urine tax). According to legend, when Emperor Vespasian’s son Titus questioned the unpleasant tax, Vespasian held up a gold coin and said, Pecunia non olet — Latin for “Money doesn’t stink.” Vespasian lives on today, his name having been the inspiration for the word for urinal in many Romance languages (e.g., vespasienne in French).

Resources

America’s Most Bizarre Taxes
by Josh Ritchie
Turbo Tax Blog, Jan. 3, 2011

NZ Flatulence Tax Outrages Farmers
BBC.co.uk, Jan. 20, 2003

Memorandum of Understanding
Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium, Jan. 29, 2004

Top 10 Truly Bizarre Taxes
by Jamie Frater
Listverse.com, Aug. 19, 2010

Farewell Address to the Nation
by George Washington
Wikisource.org, Nov. 3, 2010

Bathroom Blues Part 1
by Karl S. Kruszelnicki
ABC Science, March 1, 2000

Sliced Bagels, Taxes on Top
by Jacob Gershman
The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 24, 2010