Sunday, August 4, 2024

The Taxman

 Remember the Beatles song where the taxman taxes your seat and your feet? Britain in 1696 decided they needed more money for the military and put a tax on windows based on the amount of windows in the home, 30 years prior they had tried taxing chimneys (they'll tax the heat!) but people rebelled by bricking up or dismantling the chimneys which is eventually what people started doing with the window tax. The tax was eventually repealed in 1851 but the impact is still evident in the older buildings. Think the window tax is odd? Italy has a shadow tax imposed on businesses if their signs make shadows, as far as I know it is still being collected though I didn't see any current articles saying one way or another. 

 




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