Are you upset with some ridiculous provisions in the Income tax or other indirect taxes acts? Are you upset with the functioning of the Income Tax Department?
Cheer up and be happy. You are not the only one with reason to be unhappy. Brief compilation of some of the hilarious taxation provisions from around the world including in some leading countries will make you smile that Than God India does not have such laws.
1. Tax on Urine-During Ancient times, Rome had taxed urine. Urine was one of the vital ingredient for some chemical processes in some industries as tanning or to bleach woolen togas and as such the buyers taking urine from public urinals were levied tax on such purchase.
2. Windows tax– In 1696, Britain had imposed windows tax and it continued till it was repealed in 1851, about 160 years later, It was repealed as the public had either modified houses to reduce the number of windows or in new houses coming up, reduced the number of windows planned and it started causing health hazards to its residents as the flow of fresh was choked.
3. Endorsement Income of Athletes– in 2012 Summer Olympics, UK imposed tax on endorsement income of participating athletes even where these athletes were not UK nationals and such endorsement originate from other country. The income was taxed proportionate to the time spent in UK by such athletes with respect to total duration of the endorsement period. The law was revoked temporarily during 2012 games and is still applicable.
Many athletes still don’t participate in sporting competitions in Britain as their prize money well falls short of the tax payable by them on such endorsements.
4. Pay tax on Hot Air Balloons if they are tied to ground- In Kansas, US, if you enjoy being in hot air balloon that are tied to ground, you pay additional taxes as it gets categorized as Entertainment. The way forward was that such balloon were not tied to ground, were made to small distance and such balloons were categorized as Travel and as such not taxed.
5. As a part of the bidding for Soccer world cup, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) along with its subsidiaries has to be exempted from any tax
6. Tax on Searching Google This by far tops the list of funniest taxes across the globe. To Protect the privacy of its citizens and business houses, Europe has levied tax known as “Google taxes” that apply to any large Internet-based company. France has been the most outspoken nation in attempting to tax Internet companies like brick-and-mortar companies. Previously France contemplated a “culture tax” on smart phones and tablets made by Google and other tech companies in hopes of gaining revenue for a cultural fund. The reason for such tax as forwarded by France was that it is losing revenue to Ireland (where Nokia Company was headquartered) as most of the cell phones being used in France were mad and consequently revenue was accruing to Ireland.
No doubt such funny taxes have prompted some learned writers pen equally funny anecdotes. Some of them are-
1. I would like to electrocute everyone who uses the word ‘fair’ in connection with income tax policies. William F. Buckley, Jr.
2. The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government- Barry Goldwater
3. Albert Einstein once said that “The trouble is that understanding taxation requires more than a genius mind”
4. One anonymous IRS Officer in US Said that “Walt Disney has failed to file a tax return since 1966. The new IRS ruling clearly specifies that physical death is not necessarily a reason to terminate a US person’s tax obligation. ”
Should we not thank God that in above funny compilation, there is not even single one from India,
If readers have any such funny instance in mind, please share with other fellow readers in comments below.