INSEE therefore confirmed that the French public deficit, in 2023, exceeded forecasts that were already not great and reached 5.5% of GDP. That’s a big hole in the fund of 154 billion euros. A figure so high that it means nothing to ordinary mortals, or even to Kylian Mbappé for that matter. One thing is certain, however, we will feel it pass in one way or another, either by saving money, or by putting our hands in our pockets, or both.
So even if it means getting robbed, it might as well be while laughing, even if it’s with a dull laugh. HAS 20 minutes, we therefore decided to give Bruno Le Maire some ideas for eccentric taxes and unusual taxes from which he could draw inspiration. While hoping he doesn’t…
According to the Ifrap foundation, “France is the champion of the weight of taxes in national wealth”. In 2019, there were no fewer than 483 taxes and other contributions in force. But could the need for money at all costs revive certain abolished tithes?
Tax pianists who eat Nutella
Established in 1893 and abandoned at the beginning of the 20th century, the “piano tax” was a kind of ISF before the ISF. The government of the time started from the principle that the owners of such an expensive instrument could pay a tax of ten francs per year per piano in order to replenish the state coffers. The piano tax brought in 5 million francs the first year.
Even further back in French history, there was the tax on doors and windows. In 1798, at the end of the Revolution, a Directory in search of new revenue had the idea of taxing owners in proportion to the number of openings in their real estate. Count 20 centimes per window in a village and 60 centimes in a big city.
In 2012, France almost adopted what was nicknamed at the time the “Nutella tax”. The idea of Senator Yves Daubigny, who carried the bill, was, for environmental reasons, to create a tax on palm oil imports. Voted in the Senate, rejected in the Assembly, this “Nutella tax” later returned to the table but will never be voted on.
Tax big bearded men who don’t have children
Elsewhere in the world, there is no shortage of inventiveness when it comes to taxes. In the former Soviet Union, an incredible tax remained in force between 1941 and 1992: the childlessness tax. During this period, men and women aged 25 to 50 had to pay a tax of 6% of their salary if they did not have a good reason for not having a child. In this game, the Russians were very strong since they also had the tax on bearded men or the tax on bathtubs.
In 2008, under the guise of a public health issue, Japan passed an anti-fat law, known as the “Metabo law”, setting a maximum waist size for men and women. If people considered obese by the government are not prosecuted, but strongly encouraged to lose weight, the companies which employ them are, however, liable to heavy financial sanctions.
Tax tattooed sex shop fans
A tax on hair and holes was introduced in 2005 by the government of Arkansas, in the United States. Still in force today, this tax of 6% of gross receipts targeted piercing salons, tattoo parlors and salons providing hair removal.
Still in the United States, but in Utah, the authorities introduced a “tax on sexually explicit businesses” in 2004. Basically, sex shops, escort services or any company that makes sex its business must pay a tax corresponding to “10% of the amounts invoiced”.