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BRITS will be nervously clutching their wallets and purses today as Chancellor Philip Hammond announces his Budget.
But whether he decided to raise or lower taxes, there have certainly been some loopy levies down the centuries. Here, as light relief from the number-crunching, JAMES MOORE looks at some of the most bizarre tariffs from the past…
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SHAVING CASH: Although Henry VIII sported a beard it didn’t stop the king introducing a tax on them in 1535.
Briefly dropped, Elizabeth I reintroduced it on, “every beard of more than two weeks’ growth”.
Peter The Great also taxed face fuzz in 18th-Century Russia at up to 100 roubles a year.
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LEAN SPELL: In 2011, the Romanian government brought in a law that meant witches and fortune tellers had to pay tax for the first time.
They gathered to hurl poisonous mandrake into the River Danube to curse treasury officials.
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WEE BIT MORE: Roman emperor Nero introduced a tax on urine, which was collected in the city to be used in processes such as tanning.
When Vespasian extended the tax to public toilets he justified the move by saying: “Money does not stink.”
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INKING HECK: If you love your tattoos think twice about moving to the US state of Arkansas where, in 2005, they introduced a 6% tax on body art and piercings.
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TOP RATE: Back in 1784 the size of the hat you wore was a mark of status, so British PM William Pitt the Younger decided to introduce a levy which taxed more expensive hats at a higher rate. Heavy fines were imposed for not coughing up. The tax was abolished in 1811.
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HAIR-RAISING: A similar tariff was brought in from 1795, with wig powder taxed at one guinea per year.
By 1820, wigs were out of fashion partly because of the levy and by the time it was repealed in 1869 the tax brought in a mere £1,000.
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LIGHT-FINGERED: After a short-lived hearth tax, raising a shilling on each chimney, another money-raising scheme saw windows taxed from 1696.
Homes with between 10 and 20 windows were forced to pay an extra two shillings, four if you had more.
People blocked up windows to avoid paying, but charges lasted until 1851.
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BULGING COFFERS: In a bid to fight obesity, the government in
Japan brought in the socalled “metabo” law in 2008, where the waist sizes of employees were measured.
Companies were liable to pay fines if the workers had bellies that were considered too big.
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CRACKING IDEA: The US state of Tennessee came up with a novel wheeze in 2005 where drug dealers paid a tax on illegal substances such as cocaine.
They did so anonymously at the state revenue office and got a stamp. If they were then arrested without it, they’d be liable for penalties. The law was repealed as unconstitutional in 2009.
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PASTYGATE: In 2012 exChancellor George Osborne landed himself in controversy when he tried to introduce 20% VAT on hot takeaway food such as pasties. After an outcry, the plans were eventually dropped.
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WAGE WONDER: We’ve been paying income tax every year since 1842 when it was meant to be “temporary”. As Benjamin Franklin, left, wrote: “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes!”