When I write about taxation, it’s normally to address core economic issues such as marginal tax rates and double taxation.
Or sometimes very wonky topics such as depreciation, carry forwards, and worldwide taxation.
But I confess my favorite tax-related columns involve bizarre example of taxation from around the globe.
For instance, I wrote back in 2015 about how the barbarians from the Islamic State (ISIS) discovered the Laffer Curve when they tried to grab too much money from the unfortunate people in the territory they controlled.
I wonder if the Taliban in Afghanistan will soon learn the same lesson.
Here are some excerpts from a Wall Street Journal report by Saeed Shah.
…most businesses in Kabul’s busy Mandawi market got by without paying their taxes. That changed when the Taliban swept to power. …The Taliban has managed to squeeze more tax revenue out of the country than the previous U.S.-backed governments, even as the economy collapses and most Afghans are struggling to afford food. …“We are creating a culture of tax paying, in spite of all our problems,” said Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban commerce minister. …it isn’t an easy pitch to make to a country that has plunged deeper into poverty since the Taliban took over in 2021… The Taliban has restricted women from parts of the workforce, depriving many families of livelihoods. The World Food Program says that 92% of households are straining to meet their basic food needs, including millions on the verge of famine. …The owner of a grocery store, near the hat shop, said that business was down 50% but now he has to pay his taxes, which cost twice as much. …“If we don’t pay the taxes, I’m afraid of a beating or being put in jail.” …Taxes collected from small businesses have tripled.
Taxes have tripled? I imagine Joe Biden, Crazy Bernie, and Elizabeth Warren are very jealous.
But my guess is that the Taliban thugs will soon learn there are limits to how much tax people can or will pay.
P.S. Here are some comparatively benign examples of quirky tax policies in other nations.
- Bizarrely foolish tax policies, such as the German tax on online coffee sales that loses money for government.
- Heartening protests against government greed, such as Irish taxpayers refusing to pay a housing levy.
- Quirky examples of tax avoidance in Ukraine, Finland, Scotland, and Catalonia.
- Inexplicable taxation rules, such as porn being taxed at lower rates than high culture in Spain.
- Strange forms of tax enforcement, such as transgender tax collectors in Pakistan.
- Governments get very creative, such as a German plan to tax prostitutes with parking meters.
- Clever forms of tax avoidance, such as the Spanish theatre that gave free passes to patrons who bought lightly taxed carrots.
- X-rated tax protests, such as the brothel owner in Austria who provided free “services” to lower his tax bill.
- Two straight men getting married in Ireland to escape the nation’s death tax.
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