According to Benjamin Franklin, only two things are certain in life: death and taxes. This timeless truth rings especially true when you consider the truly odd things that have once been subject to government levies. In this roundup we’ll explore the ten weird things that were once taxed, from furry companions to fashionable headwear, and uncover the strange stories behind each fiscal folly.
10 weird things: A Taxing Tale
1 Hats
In 1784 Britain rolled out a tax aimed squarely at hats. London‑based hatmakers were on the hook for two pounds a year, while those operating outside the capital faced a heftier five‑pound charge. To make enforcement simple, every shop was required to display the bold proclamation “Dealer in Hats by Retail” above its doorway, ensuring the taxman could spot a taxable premises at a glance.
Those who dutifully paid the levy received official stamps which they were obliged to affix to each hat they sold. Trading a hat without the appropriate stamp was a criminal offence. Some enterprising hatters tried to game the system by forging their own stamps; one such forger, John Collins, was caught red‑handed and sentenced to death for his counterfeit cap‑craft.
2 Bricks
Following a costly defeat in the Revolutionary War, Britain turned to a brick tax in 1784 to refill the treasury. The levy, which also covered tiles, was set at two shillings and sixpence per thousand bricks, later rising to four shillings after a decade and to five shillings by 1797.
Brickmakers responded with ingenuity, producing oversized bricks to sidestep the tax. The government caught on and, in 1803, decreed that bricks could not exceed 25.4 cm by 12.7 cm; any larger unit would be taxed at double the rate. A further increase in 1805 lifted the charge to five shillings and tenpence per thousand bricks, a rate that held steady until the tax was finally repealed in 1850.
3 Hair Powder
In 1795, as England sought fresh funds to bankroll its war against France, it introduced a tax on hair powder. Every individual who used powdered wigs was required to pay £1.05 annually—a sum that translates to roughly £127 in 2017 terms.
Exemptions were granted to the royal family, lower‑ranking soldiers, engineers, and clergy earning under £100 a year. Masters could also make a single payment to cover several servants, and an additional payment could cover all unmarried daughters.
Initially, compliance was high, with 46,664 people paying the levy in 1812. However, as the novelty wore off, many abandoned powdered wigs in favor of natural hair. By 1855, only 997 individuals were still paying, and the government’s annual intake dwindled to about £1,000. The tax was ultimately abolished in 1869.
4 Salt
For centuries, France levied a notorious salt tax known as the gabelle, a major grievance that helped ignite the French Revolution. First imposed in 1295, the tax originally covered wine and wheat as well as salt.
The country was divided into thirty regions, each overseen by a salt tax collector who set rates and ran warehouses where the salt was sold. Every citizen over eight years old was compelled to purchase salt exclusively from these state‑run depots, even if they could obtain it cheaper elsewhere.
Because the price of salt varied dramatically with distance from the sea, many peasants found themselves paying up to a month’s wages for the essential seasoning. This heavy burden sparked widespread discontent among the lower classes.
The gabelle was finally abolished during the Revolution, and 32 tax collectors met a grim fate at the hands of angry peasants. Napoleon later revived the tax to fund his Italian campaigns, but it was ultimately discontinued for good in 1949.
5 Windows
England’s window tax, introduced in 1696, quickly earned a reputation as one of the most unpopular levies of its era. Initially, the tax applied only to landlords of houses with ten or more windows, a threshold intended to shield the poorest.
Urban landlords, however, owned larger apartment blocks that easily exceeded the limit. To offset the extra expense, they raised rents. Some owners resorted to bricking up existing windows or constructing new homes with fewer openings, since even a tiny aperture counted as a taxable window.
In response to the growing backlash, lawmakers lowered the exemption threshold from ten windows to seven, prompting even more bricking‑up in already cramped dwellings. The resulting poor ventilation sparked health concerns.
Doctors linked the dim, airless conditions to rising cases of cholera and smallpox, and public outcry intensified. After decades of protest, the window tax was finally repealed in 1851.
6 Fireplaces
Between 1662 and 1689 England and Wales imposed a hearth tax, levying one shilling per fireplace every six months. The revenue was earmarked to cover the royal household’s annual expenses—about £1.2 million under King Charles II—or, according to other accounts, to fund the national budget.
The tax proved highly controversial. Homeowners were required to report the number of fireplaces they possessed, and local tax collectors often entered private residences to verify the counts, a blatant invasion of privacy that sparked resentment.
Compounding the outrage, the tax was not universally exempted for the poor. Hospitals and almshouses—places where the indigent lived—were still taxed, and it fell to the tenants, not the landlords, to shoulder the cost. Ultimately, the hearth tax failed to generate the anticipated revenue and was abandoned.
7 The Chinese
Canada’s Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 introduced a head tax targeting Chinese newcomers, initially set at $50 per person. This measure reflected a growing anti‑Chinese sentiment, as many Canadians feared that Chinese laborers were taking jobs and accepting lower wages.
The tax failed to deter immigration, prompting successive hikes: $100 in 1900 and a steep $500 in 1903. Despite the escalating costs, Chinese migrants continued to arrive, especially during World War I when Canada faced a manpower shortage and temporarily relaxed the levy.
After the war, anti‑Chinese feelings resurfaced. As Chinese immigrants began to acquire property and become landlords, public hostility intensified. In 1923 Canada enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act, effectively banning Chinese immigration. The act was partially repealed in 1947 and finally abolished in 1967.
8 Clocks
In July 1797 the British Parliament passed legislation demanding a tax on clocks and watches. The rates were five shillings for ordinary clocks, ten shillings for gold watches, and two shillings and sixpence for other timepieces, with any clock costing less than a pound exempted.
The levy proved deeply unpopular. Because the tax was payable quarterly, many people simply concealed their clocks and watches rather than declare them. Owners of gold watches even altered their cases to evade the higher charge.
The tax’s fallout hit clockmakers hardest, as demand for new timepieces plummeted. Conversely, tavern owners saw an unexpected boon: they began installing large public clocks, knowing that patrons would stop by for a quick glance at the time and, inevitably, purchase a drink.
Overall, the scheme was a failure. Within a year the government collected a modest £2,600 before repealing the act in March 1798.
9 Beards
The first beard tax emerged in England in 1535 under King Henry VIII. Though the monarch himself sported a beard, the tax was less about revenue and more about turning facial hair into a status marker. The amount owed varied with the wearer’s social rank—the higher the rank, the larger the levy.
Henry eventually abandoned the tax, but his successor, Queen Elizabeth I, revived it, imposing a charge on any beard that grew beyond two weeks. In 1698, Peter I of Russia introduced a similar tax, aiming to curb the tradition of bearded aristocracy across Europe.
Those who paid the levy received a silver or copper token, which they were required to keep on their person at all times. Failure to produce the token or refusal to pay resulted in public shaving. The English beard tax was finally repealed in 1772.
10 Dogs
Scotland’s brief experiment with a dog tax ran from 1797 to 1798, imposing a flat five‑shilling levy on every non‑working canine. The measure sparked immediate controversy; opponents argued that dogs were sentient beings, not objects, while supporters claimed that because dogs consumed food and used household resources, they should be treated as taxable luxuries.
The proposal originated in 1796 from John Dent, the Lancaster MP. Dent endured harsh ridicule, with fellow parliamentarians and the press dubbing him “Dog Dent” for his audacious suggestion.
The tax was never intended to eradicate the canine population, though some owners likely culled un‑taxable dogs. At the time, Scotland was awash with stray, non‑working dogs that roamed streets, often chasing pedestrians and being viewed as nuisances. The revenues were earmarked for aid to the poor.