40 Unusual and Interesting Tax Facts
Did you know Americans spend over $27.7 billion dollars doing their taxes each year? Also, if you live in England and you’re blind, you pay half of the taxes on Televisions, yeah I know, taxes…. Learn this and other interesting tax facts on this list.
1. The word “tax” is derived from the Latin taxo which means “I estimate.”
2. Alabama is the only state of the United States to carry out a 10¢ playing card tax.
3. The first property tax in the United States was in 1798 and it was on land, houses, and slaves.
4. Americans spend over $27.7 billion doing their taxes every year.
5. Almost ninety percent of people who employ babysitters and housekeepers cheat on their taxes.
6. In 2012, nearly 47% of Americans did not pay income tax.
7. Canada created the Chinese Head Tax in 1880.
8. The income tax rate in the U.S in 1944 for the top bracket was 94 percent.
9. England taxes color TVs more than black-and-white TVs.
10. In England, if a blind person has a television, he or she has to pay only half the tax.
11. There are seven states in the U.S. that do not have a state income tax. These are Texas, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Washington.
12. Excise taxes are also called “sin taxes”.
13. Except for Donald Trump, every U.S. president has released their tax returns.
14. U.S. citizens are eligible to vote only if they were taxpayers.
15. Bank of America had an income of $4.4 billion in 2009. Though, they paid $0 in taxes.
16. The IRS collected over $2.4 trillion from around 234 million tax returns.
17. The first federal tax office in the US was the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in 1862.
18. In Texas, strip clubs must pay “pole tax”.
19. Denmark, Ireland, and other EU nations started to tax cattle owners on cow flatulence.
20. One of the causal aspects of the French Revolution was a salt tax called the gabelle.
21. To help with taxes, over one million accountants are hired in America each year.
22. The first electronic transmission of a tax return (e-file) occurred on January 24, 1986.
23. Russian Emperor Peter the Great placed a tax on beards in 1705.
24. There are two Taxes, they can be either direct or indirect.
25. Blueberries from Maine are subject to a tax of 1.5 cents per pound sold.
26. The first income tax in the U.S was imposed in July.
27. The largest tax evasion case in the history of the U.S. was the 2006 case of Walter Anderson.
28. The most famous protest of taxation by the American colonies was the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773.
29. The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first tax imposed directly on the American colonies by England.
30. The top five states with the highest state tax on cigarettes are Hawaii, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Wisconsin.
31. New York City is the most expensive place in the U.S. to buy cigarettes because it adds a city tax onto the state tax.
32. There are at least 480 tax forms on the IRS website.
33. There are several types of taxes, including income, Social Security, sales, property, and excise taxes.
34. The very first known civilization, the Sumerians, recorded their tax history on clay cones.
35. The IRS is the world’s largest accounting and tax-collection organization.
36. New York City has a special tax on food and prepared foods.
37. New York City has the highest corporate income tax in the world.
38. Madison Square Garden was granted a 10-year property tax abatement in 1982.
39. If you turn 100 and live in New Mexico, you can stop paying income tax.
