Taxes have a very intriguing history around the globe! As we are well familiar with the fact that tax rules are essential for our country. Taxes are as certain as deaths. For the social welfare and development of any country, taxes are crucial and must be taken more promptly by its citizens. With such a serious entity of taxes, it’s quite surprising to know about those extremely unusual and weird taxes across the world. Did you know, some countries even charge taxes on prostitution? Weird, right?
To sum up such weird and unusual tax rules across the globe, we have presented this article. Such unusual tax rules pass because of the sudden financial needs in order to fill up the gaps that occurred in budgets.
Throughout the world’s history, numerous weird and unusual tax rules have been passed. Some fraction of these taxes were passed to generate additional revenue, whereas others were passed for social welfare purposes.
Well, we can not turn down the tax rules due to the chances of arrests are pretty high. That’s why willingly or unwillingly, people do follow the tax rules and pay their fraction. Let’s begin with the most unusual tax rules around the globe.
Germany: Tax deduction on Bribes
Denmark: Cow Flatulence Tax
Hungary: The Junk food Tax
Britain: Films Tax Reduction
Russia: Beard tax
Canada: Cereal Toys Tax Reduction
Ireland: Artist Tax Exemptions
FAQ
Germany: Tax deduction on Bribes
According to German laws, bribery was legal in all sectors. This continued till 2002, after which various laws were passed and bribery became illegal. But, this isn’t the unusual part. Bribes were not only legal in Germany but it was also tax-deductible, published by Businessweek editorial of 1995.
However, this wasn’t allowed when the briber or its recipient was involved in any kind of criminal offense or proceedings. On this note, bribery was restricted by the prosecution. This ended when Germany passed the public contracts of 20-30%. Germany made its proceedings of eliminating this tax deduction for bribery till 1999.
Denmark: Cow Flatulence Tax
A wide fraction of people believe the cause of greenhouse gasses is the black smoke coming from factories or the highway of Los Angeles but, Denmark holds a different perspective here! It believes the cause of greenhouse gases is cow gas.
According to research and analysis, around 18% of Europe’s greenhouse gasses come from methane, released in cow gas because of the slow digestion of greens in the cow.
To prevent the epidemic of greenhouse gas, caused by the cow fueled, several European countries passed tax charges on each cow. Thus, Denmark’s cows are worth $110.
Hungary: The Junk Food Tax
It’s quite shocking to know that some countries even charge taxes on packaged foods that are high in salt and sugar. Basically, on all junk foods. One such country is Hungary. This junk food tax is officially termed as ‘Public Health Product Tax‘, which adds up to around 20% more than the initial price.
The government of Hungary basically prioritizes the healthy diet and assesses it to the citizens of having a better product choice. This results in around 59 to 73% of consumers eliminating junk foods from their lists.
Britain: Films Tax Reduction
Great Britain charges a distinct tax deduction to films that are based on British culture. Such films need to be registered to various authorities and would be rated according to their cultural content, practitioners, hubs, and contribution.
Those films which are rated highly on the scale, get a tax reduction of 25 percent on the earnings generated by the films.
Alan Joseph
Russia: Beard tax
It’s very unusual for Russia to introduce a beard tax. Well, it is true! In the times of Peter the Great who was known to be the most popular Czar of Russia. And he was the one who introduced the beard tax.
Beard was the typical fare for a wide number of people in Chilly Russia. When Peter the Great visited Western Europe where he was intrigued by the barbarian culture and that’s when he decided to tax the bread. For keeping a beard, men had to give some token as in beard tax.
Canada: Cereal Toys Tax Reduction
One of the most fascinating things for a kid is to find the toy hidden in the cereal box. And Canada leaves no grounds to promote such packaging. That’s why it has provided tax breaks on cereal companies for putting a toy in the cereal box. This is unusual but at the same time, promotes kids’ welfare.
Those cereal companies that hide a toy in their cereal box around our Northern Neighbor get a reduction on the extra tax.
Ireland: Artist Tax Exemptions
For artists, managing their economic status is quite tough and often leaves them starving. But in Ireland, artists from all categories including sculptures, writers, composers, and visual artists who sell their work are not compelled to pay the income tax.
For getting such tax exemption, the artists have to file a lawsuit for their original work under the tax authorities of Ireland. They further check and provide the final statement on whether the work is original, valuable, and passes the cultural merits or not.
Pratiksha Bajikar
Conclusion
The history of tax rules is quite intriguing as well as unusual. And still, such unusual taxes are available in many countries across the globe. In fact, in historical times taxes were charged on cooking oils or beards. Every country has its distinct tax rules based on the country’s requirements or culture. Through this article, we did our best in covering such unusual and weird tax rules across the globe.
FAQ
Which countries are tax-free?
Bermuda, Monaco, the Bahamas, Andorra and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are tax-free countries.
What are examples of hidden taxes?
taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, gasoline and hotel rooms are some of the examples of hidden taxes.
What are some weird taxes around the world
Cow Tax, Junk Food Tax and Tax on bribe are some of the weird taxes in history.
