Double-click on any word and see its definition from Cambridge Dictionaries Online.
Prostitution may be the oldest profession, but tax collection was surely not far behind. The Bible records that Jesus offered his views on a tax matter, and converted a prominent taxman. In its early days taxation did not always involve handing over money. The ancient Chinese paid with pressed tea, and Jivaro tribesmen in the Amazon region stumped up shrunken heads. As the price of their citizenship, ancient Greeks and Romans could be called on to serve as soldiers, and had to supply their own weapons—a practice that was still going strong in feudal Europe. As Ferdinand Grapperhaus recounts in “Tax Tales” (International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, Amsterdam, 1998), the origins of modern taxation can be traced to wealthy subjects paying money to their king in lieu of military service.
Source: Economist.com
Godiva (sometimes Godgifu) was a Saxon lady, who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England, in order to gain from her husband a remission of the oppressive toll imposed on his tenants. The story is that she was the beautiful wife of Leofric III (968–1057), Earl of Mercia and lord of Coventry. The people of that city were suffering grievously under the earl's oppressive taxation. Lady Godiva appealed again and again to her husband, who obstinately refused to remit the tolls. At last, weary of her entreaties, he said he would grant her request if she would ride naked through the streets of the town. Lady Godiva took him at his word, and after issuing a proclamation that all persons should keep within doors or shut their windows, she rode through, clothed only in her long hair. One person disobeyed her proclamation, a tailor, ever afterwards known as Peeping Tom. He bored a hole in his shutters that he might see Godiva pass, and is said to have been struck blind. Her husband kept his word and abolished the onerous taxes.
Source: Wikipedia
Income Tax Sappy (1954): directed by Jules White and starring Shemp Howard, Larry Fine and Moe Howard (the three Stooges). Plot Summary: Tax cheats Moe, Larry and Shemp decide they're so good at cheating the government, that they start a business as crooked tax advisors...
Source: IMDb
68%: the top rate of tax in Denmark, the county with the highest income tax. The basic rate starts at 42%. The tax code in Denmark is very complicated, with income taxes, work taxes, sales taxes, taxes on "luxury items" and various taxes that businesses must pay as a percentage of their salaries. In return for these high taxes, the Danes receive a wide range of governmental benefits, including free health care, free higher education and an extensive social services.
0: the rate of income tax in Bahrain and Qatar, the sovereign countries with the least income tax. This is regardless of the amount of income earned. For both nations, oil is the backbone of the economy, providing over half of government revenues.
Source: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com
Different types of tax:
capital gains tax (ALSO CDT): tax on the profits made from selling something you own.
carbon tax: a tax on the use of oil, coal etc. which produce greenhouse gases which harm the atmosphere.
corporation tax: tax paid by businesses on their profits.
income tax: a tax that you have to pay on your income, which is usually higher for people with larger incomes.
inheritance tax: a tax paid on money or property you have received from someone who has died.
road tax: in Britain, a tax that you must pay on your vehicle before you are allowed to drive it on the roads.
sales tax: a tax paid by people when they buy goods or services.
sin tax: a tax on items such as cigarettes, alcohol, gambling and other things which are considered unnecessary luxuries in life.
Source: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
Taxman by the Beatles
See lyrics
Tax Day Stroganoff
See recipe
The following are all tax-related oxymorons (two or more words used together which have, or seem to have, opposite meanings):
tax cut
tax return
tax simplification
tax-free
Source: http://www.oxymoronlist.com/
The following phrases are tax-related anagrams (words or phrases made by using the letters of another word or phrase in a different order):
The IRS = Theirs!
Tax relief = Extra life!
Inland Revenue = Unearned 'n' evil
Source: http://www.anagramgenius.com/
The Tax Collector by Peter Carey
From acclaimed Australian novelist Carey (Oscar and Lucinda, 1988; Illywhacker, 1985, etc.), a brilliantly realized, dark comedic story of a dysfunctional but ingenuous family. (From Kirkus Reviews)
Read more reviews
Rent and taxes never sleep. (German)
When the devil grows poor he becomes a tax collector. (Greek)
Nothing is certain but death and taxes. (Traditional)
No matter how bad a child is, he is still good for a tax deduction. (American)
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