New Zealand plans to tax cow and sheep burps. 4 other such weird taxes
If you are complaining about the 30% tax that you pay on your salary or the GST that you pay on your sales as an entrepreneur, you are still in a better position than the farmers who stay in New Zealand. As per the BBC, New Zealand has revealed a plan to tax sheep and cattle burps to tackle one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases in their country.
Since New Zealand houses over five million people, around 10 million cattle, and 26 million sheep, almost 50% of their total greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. As carbon dioxide and methane are the highest polluting gases that cause climate change and since New Zealand wants to cut down its methane output, it will be the first country to charge farmers for their animals' methane emissions from 2025 onward.
Though it is normal for the farmers in New Zealand, this is outright weird for a common man to comprehend. Here are 5 more weird tax laws that might take you by surprise.
1. DENMARK'S COW FLATULENCE TAX
Remember that science chapter that talked about the sloooowwww process where cows would chew and rechew their grass over hours (it's called rumination). Well, as per some studies, cows release methane gas after their rumination process and this may account for up to 18% of Europe’s greenhouse gasses. Now in regions where there is a large number of slaughterhouses, this methane gas may concentrate in large quantities in one area. So, to stop this methane nuisance, several EU countries adopted taxes on each cow. While a cow in Denmark has the highest tax because each cow is taxed up to $110 (Rs 8600), in Ireland, cow flatulence costs $18 (Rs 1400) per cow.
2. WINDOW TAX
Yo I just read that there used to be a 'window tax' in Europe. My g, they charged ppl. For. Having. Windows. That's why you can see many homes with bricked up windows. How these niglets got away with taxing sunlight and air is a real technique to study...you'll see they still do.
— Jashua Sa-Ra (@earthiopian) February 5, 2022
Though the rich are taxed these days on their national and international incomes and based on how they spend, this was not the case in the 18th and 19th centuries. England, France, Ireland, and Scotland taxed individuals by something called 'Window Tax' where an individual's property was taxed basis the number of windows in a house. Why? The richer you are, the more windows you were likely to have in your gala mansions and the more probability for the government to receive higher taxes. Also, wouldn't it be easy for a common man to calculate your taxes and avoid tax fraud? You don't even need a CA in these cases (lol).
3. TOILET FLUSH TAX
To check the water consumption, the state of Maryland in the USA imposed a tax in 2004 to control toilet flushing in apartments. If a resident crossed the allowed toilet flushing limits, the residents were charged a tax of $5 each month (so about $60 every year). This tax was intended to be used to develop Maryland’s sewage treatment system to reduce the discharge of phosphorus and nitrogen. This same tax system was also implemented in Australia in 2009 when Australia was battling a drought.
4. BEARD TAX
The Russian ruler in 1672 was called Peter, the Great. He was an eccentric leader who had a penchant for torture, murder, and power. He is also the creator of the beard tax. When Peter toured western Europe, he found modern European courts filled with clean-shaven men and wanted to bring this culture shock to Russia. So, he first took a knife and personally started shaving the beards of his horrified guests. He then declared that all Russian men had to lose their beards which really did not go down well with the churchmen. Eventually, his stance softened when he decided to levy a beard tax on every person who wanted to carry a beard.
Do you know of any more weird taxes?