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Unbelievable taxes people really had to pay

The strangest things people have paid tax on
Cooking oil (3,000-300 BC)
Urine (1st century AD)
Being single (9 AD)
Avoiding battle (12th-14th centuries)
Salt (1350)
Beards (1535-1772)
Playing cards (17th century)
Fireplaces (1662)
Lawyers (1667)
Windows (1696)
Candles (1709)
Soap (1711)
Wallpaper (1712)
Gin (1736)
Bricks (1784)
Hats (1784)
Wig powder (1795)
Clocks (1797)
Church-going (1803)
Radio/TV (from 1923)
Sugary drinks (1930s)
Photocopying (1985)
Shade (1993)
Queen bees (1999)
Cow flatulence (2003)
Chopsticks (2006)
Sliced bagels (2010)
Even elephants (2017)
Internet data (2021)
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hydebrink/ Shutterstock.com

The strangest things people have paid tax on

Governments have tried to fill their coffers with unusual taxes throughout history, from England’s 17th-century window tax to Russia’s beard tax. There are even levies on queen bees and, believe it or not, cow flatulence. Read on to see some of the most 'creative' taxes of all time.
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lovemoney staff

17 March 2022

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