Taxation is a mandatory financial charge exacted by the state in order to fund various public expenditures. The word “tax” is from the Latin "taxo," meaning "I estimate."
In Ancient Egypt tax collectors were known as scribes. The tax system was linked to water levels of the River Nile. It was used to predict farmers' wealth each year.
During one period the Ancient Egyptian scribes imposed a tax on cooking oil.
Egyptians did not have coined money, so their taxes were levied on harvests and property or even honey.
In times of war the Athenians imposed a tax referred to as eisphora, which they were able to rescind the tax once the emergency was over. When additional resources were gained by the war effort the resources were used to refund the tax.
In ancient Greece, a metic was a foreign resident of Athens, one who did not have citizen rights in their Greek city-state (polis) of residence. Athenians imposed a monthly poll tax on metics of one drachma for men and a half drachma for women. The tax was referred to as metoikion.
The earliest taxes in Rome were customs duties on imports and exports called portoria.
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HISTORY OF TAXATION
During one period the Ancient Egyptian scribes imposed a tax on cooking oil.
Egyptians did not have coined money, so their taxes were levied on harvests and property or even honey.
In times of war the Athenians imposed a tax referred to as eisphora, which they were able to rescind the tax once the emergency was over. When additional resources were gained by the war effort the resources were used to refund the tax.
In ancient Greece, a metic was a foreign resident of Athens, one who did not have citizen rights in their Greek city-state (polis) of residence. Athenians imposed a monthly poll tax on metics of one drachma for men and a half drachma for women. The tax was referred to as metoikion.
The earliest taxes in Rome were customs duties on imports and exports called portoria.
Roman emperor Vespasian born in 9AD raised the money for his campaigns in Wales and northern Britain by levying a tax on public urinals.
Under the Romans, the rights to gather taxes of a district were sold by auction to the highest bidder. Saint Matthew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, was a tax collector before his decision to follow Christ.
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| The Evangelist Matthew inspired by an Angel is a painting by Rembrandt |
The Saladin tithe, or the Aid of 1188, was a tax, or more specifically a tallage, levied in England and to some extent in France in 1188, in response to the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187. It was a literal tithe of 10% on revenues and movable properties raised by Henry II to finance the Third Crusade.
According to Gervase of Canterbury, £70,000 was collected from Christians, and another £60 000 was collected from Jews. The amount collected from Jews was more likely £10,000, with another £2000 collected in 1190. This was the largest tax ever collected in England, although Henry had levied other taxes for assistance to the Holy Land, in 1166 and recently in 1185. The tithe was extremely unpopular, despite the general acknowledgement that it was for a worthy cause.
Henry VIII and Elizabeth I of England and Emperor Peter the Great of Russia all imposed taxes on beards.
Between the 12th and 18th centuries, taxes paid were recorded by notches on a piece of wood called a tally stick.
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| Pieter Brueghel the Younger, The tax collector's office, 1640 |
During the Chinese Qing Dynasty (1636–1912) the imperial treasury got so full they stopped taking taxes – several times.
The tax imposed on tea that triggered the infamous Boston Tea Party in 1773 was 3 pence per pound.
Britain's first income tax levied directly on an individual according to their earnings was introduced in 1799 by William Pitt the Younger. The rate was 2d (two old pence) in the pound on incomes over £60 a year (equivalent to £5,640 now). It was supposed to be a temporary measure to cover the cost of the Napoleonic Wars.
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| William Pitt's income tax By James Gilray(Life time: 18th century) |
Because of public pressure, the Chancellor of Exchequer William Gladstone abolished the tax on soap in 1853. Probably to make up for the substantial loss, he introduced in the same budget death duties.
In order to help pay for the war effort during the American Civil War, the United States government levied the first US income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).
Inheritance tax was first introduced in Great Britain in 1894.
The U.S. Congress passed a tax on long distance phone calls to pay for the Spanish-American War in 1898. The war ended four months later, but the tax remained in place for over 100 years. On August 1, 2006, the IRS announced it would no longer collect the tax.
West Virginia became the first state to legislate a broad sales tax in 1921, but did not implement it until a number of years later due to issues surrounding its enforcement.
When the Revenue Act was enacted in 1932, it created the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon (1/4 ¢/L) sold.
Adolf Hitler was a chronic tax evader, and was even fined by his own government over it in 1934. He then got the tax department to declare him exempt from taxation.
In 1966 The Beatles released their song "Taxman" as a protest against the 95 per cent "supertax" rate introduced by the Labour government.
Leona Helmsley, the notoriously wealthy and ruthless businesswoman and billionairess, was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $7 million for tax evasion on December 12, 1989. Her infamous quote, "Only the little people pay taxes," epitomized her disdain for the law and her belief in her own entitlement to avoid paying taxes.
West Virginia became the first state to legislate a broad sales tax in 1921, but did not implement it until a number of years later due to issues surrounding its enforcement.
When the Revenue Act was enacted in 1932, it created the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon (1/4 ¢/L) sold.
Adolf Hitler was a chronic tax evader, and was even fined by his own government over it in 1934. He then got the tax department to declare him exempt from taxation.
In 1966 The Beatles released their song "Taxman" as a protest against the 95 per cent "supertax" rate introduced by the Labour government.
Leona Helmsley, the notoriously wealthy and ruthless businesswoman and billionairess, was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $7 million for tax evasion on December 12, 1989. Her infamous quote, "Only the little people pay taxes," epitomized her disdain for the law and her belief in her own entitlement to avoid paying taxes.
In 1996, Venetian gondoliers stopped singing to their passengers to avoid a tax on musicians.
FUN TAXATION FACTS
The State of Oregon offers an annual $50 tax credit for the permanent and complete loss of the use of two limbs.
The State of New Mexico exempts people 100 years of age or older from paying income taxes.
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| Systems of taxation on personal income No income tax on individuals Territorial Residential Citizenship-based |
In the US 'the 1%' pays more tax than the bottom 90%.
The US is one of only two countries that tax citizens and residents when living and working abroad (the other being Eritrea).
Only about 1% out of 1.25 billion people in India pay taxes.
England has in past times taxed hats, soap, wig powder, playing cards and wallpaper.
The Bible has around 700,000 words. The number of words in the Federal Tax Code: 3,700,000!
The phrase "to get off scot free" applies to someone who has escaped from a difficult situation unpunished or unharmed. It derives from ‘scot’, an old word for tax, which was levied subject to a person’s ability to pay.
Albert Einstein was no fan of figuring out his taxes. He once said: "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax."
Source Taxworld
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