Interesting Tax Stuff

That's usually an oxymoron, but this is kinda neat.

There's a great article in The Wall Street Journal about the US economy and the tax situation - authored by Scott Adams, the creator of 'Dilbert'.  And right underneath that piece is this list of some of the strangest taxed items in history: 

• Taxation has been around since at least 3000 B.C., when Egyptian pharaohs taxed many items, including grain, imported goods, livestock and beer.
• Citizens also had to pay a tax on cooking oil, and tax collectors (known as scribes) searched homes for used oil, trying to make sure that everyone was using new cooking oil—and thus paying the tax.
• As part of his drive to modernize Russia—and to spur Russian men to look more like clean-shaven European men—Peter the Great introduced a beard tax in 1705.  Any man who wanted to wear a beard, with the exception of priests and peasants, had to pay a tax of as much as 900 rubles. He then had to wear a special medallion around his neck as proof of payment.
• One of the grievances that fueled the French Revolution of 1789 was the salt tax, also called the gabelle. The tax varied by region, and in some areas, residents also had to buy a minimum amount of salt. The result: lots of smuggling and unrest. In India, the British salt tax became a focus of Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent protest against English rule.
• Enacted in England in 1696 after the short-lived hearth tax on fireplaces, the window tax was based on the number of windows in a house. (That made assessments easier, since windows, unlike hearths, could be counted from the outside.) Many chose to block some of their windows to pay a lower fee. The tax was eventually repealed in 1851, on public health grounds.
• Following similar laws in other states, Tennessee passed the "crack tax" in 2005, which mandated that drug dealers pay taxes anonymously on illegal substances.  If a dealer was caught without proof of payment, the state collected taxes, with penalties. Around 3,000 people were eligible for refunds after the law was struck down in 2009; a revised law soon followed.
• In Alabama, computer solitaire has one advantage: Anyone buying a deck of playing cards there must pay a 10-cent tax. (And retailers must obtain a "playing card privilege license.")
• Other states and cities have their own special charges. Maine has a blueberry tax, New York City taxes sliced (but not whole) bagels, and Minnesota has a fur clothing tax.

One thing My Fella and I were happy to pay sales tax on was our pickleball equipment, which UPS dropped off this afternoon.

My Fella pulled out his Crazy Pickleball Eyes and tried to intimidate me with some trash talking.

Save it for the court, Mister.  And gimme my paddle!  Mine's the one on the left with the orange kokopelli on it.  My Fella chose the stripey psychedelic purple paddle.

Too bad we don't have kids, 'cause then we could play a round of pickleball in the RV and just blame the tykes if something was broken.   Just kidding  :) 

Hope this fierce southern Arizona wind dies down tomorrow so we can try out our new paddles on the local outdoor court.  And in case you're a wannabe pickleballer, these two paddles and a bag of one dozen Dura outdoor balls cost us about $96, including delivery. 

Comments

[John Calypso]

You must have sent some of that breeze down here - nice coming off the ocean actually ;-)

[kelsi]

Senor C - if you wanna shoot me your address I'd be happy to send you ALL THE WIND we're getting here in southern Arizona. And for added fun, I'll toss in our frozen RV hose :)

I'm enjoying your ejido land purchase stories. Good info!