I watched Er Chuang’s short video, and everything went numb!

[Aryan Emirate - Foreign Bride Tax. ]

[Marrying a domestic bride is expensive, but marrying a foreign bride requires tax. This is a strange tax imposed by the Arab Emirate on its men. ]

[Aryan Emirate is a wealthy and conservative country. Men often have to prepare huge gifts when they get married, which makes many people discouraged and have to turn their attention to foreign women. ]

[So the Arab Emirate government, in order to protect the interests of its women and maintain its cultural traditions, issued this regulation. Any man who marries a foreign girl must pay a "foreign bride tax" to the government. 】

The barrage of comments:

"When I heard the words 'huge betrothal gifts', I was in tears."

"The betrothal gifts are too expensive now. They are often hundreds of thousands. A family will go bankrupt just to marry a wife."

"I really can't afford it."

"My uncle has two sons. In order to marry his two sons, he borrowed money everywhere to collect betrothal gifts. In the end, he was in debt. It was miserable."

"I have to buy a house and a car, and I have to pay hundreds of thousands of betrothal gifts. It's over a million yuan when all is said and done. , who can bear this. ”

“Reply--It's so expensive, why bother marrying, it's better to just lie down.”

“Reply--You're right, wouldn't it be nice to have hundreds of thousands to change brides every night? Hehe.”

“Reply--Brother, tell me more about changing brides every night.”

“Reply--I also have a friend, forget it, it's me, I also want to know about changing brides.”

“…”

Some ancient people from all dynasties looked at the comments of these later generations complaining about the expensive bride price, and they felt the same way.

They also suffered greatly from the huge bride price.

Especially the people in the Song and Ming dynasties, because the commodity economy was relatively prosperous, some exaggerated and competitive marriage styles appeared in society.

According to some records: the trend of extravagant marriages prevailed in the eastern Zhejiang area. "Even if a girl was still in her cradle, she was betrothed by a rich family, with as much as five or seven hundred gold coins."

Translated, the girl was still in her cradle, and a rich family's son offered a betrothal gift, and this seven hundred gold coins, converted into the current currency, is about more than two million dragon coins.

This trend naturally greatly increased the cost of marrying a wife among the people.

Therefore, there were many complaints among the people.

……

The plane of Taizu of the Great Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned as he looked at the barrage.

As a person born in poverty and advocating frugality, Zhu Yuanzhang was very disgusted with the huge betrothal gifts.

For this reason, he once issued a special edict: "In ancient times, weddings were about the union of two families and the emphasis on human relations. In modern times, people have focused on betrothal gifts and have become extravagant. It is advisable to order the Secretariat to hold a meeting, formulate and promulgate regulations to be followed, and to advocate frugality and enrich customs. Those who violate the regulations will be punished according to the law."

In simple translation, whoever dares to accept a "sky-high betrothal gift" will be directly punished by law.

In fact.

Zhu Yuanzhang not only issued such an edict, but also really made relevant regulations prohibiting extravagant weddings in detail.It was written into the "Great Ming Law" and "Ming Dagao" and other legal provisions, fearing that future generations would forget it.

And he was ruthless in execution.

According to historical records, during the Hongwu period, an official was impeached for accepting 6,000 taels of silver, 5 ingots of gold, and 22 sheep as a gift for marrying his daughter. As a result, Zhu Yuanzhang arrested him without hesitation and put him in prison, and directly executed him.

The means of execution were quite fierce.

Of course.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang took a heavy blow to the sky-high gift was not only because he believed in frugality, but also out of consideration for national development.

High gifts would seriously hinder marriage among the people, and according to later generations, it would seriously reduce the marriage rate.

This is obviously not conducive to the rule of the country.

On the one hand, fewer people are getting married, which will cause a decrease in population. In ancient times, population was productivity, and maintaining population growth was very important for a dynasty.

On the other hand, if there is no permanent property, there is no permanent heart, because people who cannot get married with high betrothal gifts are undoubtedly an unstable factor in society, which is also a big trouble for the country.

It is precisely for the consideration of long-term stability of the country.

Not only Zhu Yuanzhang, but in all dynasties, emperors with a little foresight would issue decrees to suppress high betrothal gifts.

For example, during the Western Han Dynasty, when the extravagant style of marriage was popular, Emperor Xuan of Han issued a decree prohibiting people from having wine and food to celebrate marriage, which in disguise reduced people's consumption on marriage.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu issued a decree at the beginning of the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty:

Officials with salaries below 300 stones and civilians cannot spend more than a certain amount of money on marriage. For Guannei Hou, clan members, and Liehouzi, the marriage expenses should be strictly in accordance with the standard and cannot exceed it. Violators will have their slaves and property confiscated.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, when Li Shimin ordered the formulation of the Tang Code, he also made strict regulations on the dowry system of "taking betrothal wealth as trust". People of different classes should have different levels of betrothal gifts, which should not be exceeded at will.

Although the means of crackdown by these emperors were not as fierce as those of Zhu Yuanzhang, they also tried their best to suppress the sky-high betrothal gifts.

However.

Not all emperors had such foresight.

For example, the regulations set by Zhu Yuanzhang to crack down on huge betrothal gifts gradually became a dead letter after the mid-Ming Dynasty, and huge betrothal gifts and mutual comparison prevailed.

……

After seeing this strange tax, the ancients of all dynasties basically paid attention to the issue of huge betrothal gifts.

As for this tax itself, it did not attract much attention from the people.

The reason is very simple.

The ancient Chinese people attached great importance to blood ties, and most of the time, the dynasties of China were the Celestial Empire.

Therefore, in the ancient Chinese concept, looking like a foreigner is a sign of low status, and looking like a Chinese is a sign of high status.

Few Chinese nobles would marry foreign women.It's a dancer.

Even among ordinary people, few people would do such a thing.

Things that almost never happen will naturally not arouse the interest of ancient people in discussion.

……

[Cactus Country - Sugar Tax. ]

[As the country with the highest obesity rate in the world, the obesity rate of Cactus Country has reached an astonishing 74.1%. Most of the country's 100 million people are overweight. ]

……

Looking at the images on the giant screen in the sky.

Many ancient people from all dynasties were shocked.

What moved on the streets of Cactus Country were simply mountains of meat.

The people of Cactus Country were really astonishingly fat.

It's not that there were no such extremely obese people in ancient China, but the situation like Cactus Country where there were fat people all over the streets was something that ancient people had never seen.

It can only be said that it was an eye-opener.

……

[There is a reason for being so obese. ]

[The world's average per capita consumption of a can of Coke is 94 liters per year, while the Cactus Country consumes 745 cans per year, making it the world's largest consumer of sugary drinks. ]

[So, in order to eliminate obesity, the Cactus Country launched a policy that shocked the world: levying a tax on sugary drinks! ]

[And this "sugar tax" quickly became popular in Western countries. ]

[The British Empire stipulates in its new tax law that drinks containing 5 grams or 8 grams per 100 milliliters should pay a tax of 18-24 dollars per liter according to the sugar content. The state of Illinois, the Eagle Sauce Country, announced that it would add an extra cent per ounce of retail sugary drinks. ]

[In the eyes of Western countries, this seems to be a clever way to rectify the "national appearance" and fill the treasury. 】

【But it turns out that the "sugar tax" does reduce the consumption of low-income people, while the total consumption of sugary drinks has not decreased significantly...】

……

"Sugar tax?"

Many emperors of all dynasties were delighted.

This is possible!

Previously, the high-altitude giant screen taught the sugar-making method. It can be predicted that there will be many more sugar-making workshops in the private sector in the future. At that time, these workshops can be found to collect "sugar tax".

In this way, the country will have another way to make money.

Of course.

Not all emperors think so.

Some emperors are weighing the pros and cons of this "sugar tax" and do not intend to increase this tax immediately.

……

【Romania-witchcraft tax. 】

【For a country with a declining economy, increasing taxes may be a means for them to achieve economic recovery. 】

【For this reason, some countries will introduce some strange taxes. 】

[In 2011, the Romanian government created an unprecedented tax - "witchcraft tax". 】

[This tax requires all those who engage in witchcraft, divination, tarot cards and other activities to pay 16% income tax to the government. 】

[RomanianThe reason given by the Mania government is that these people are also engaged in a profession and should pay taxes like other professions. 】

[However, this tax has aroused the anger and curse of wizards, who believe that this is an insult to their sacred art and beliefs. 】

Barrage flew out:

"To be honest, I think there is nothing wrong with this tax. If you use this as a means to make money, you should pay personal income tax."

"No problem, no matter what profession, everyone pays personal income tax. Why should wizards be an exception? Naturally, they have to pay."

"Insulting beliefs is false, but not wanting to pay taxes is true."

"Wizards make a lot of money without any investment. Most of them make too much money and the income tax they have to pay is too high, so they oppose it."

"..."

The plane of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Che looked at the barrage on the giant screen in the sky, and his mind moved slightly:

"Everyone has to pay personal income tax?"

He thought this tax in the future was very interesting.

Everyone has to pay, which means that a lot of taxes can be collected, which can bring a lot of income to the country.

People who make more money pay more, and people who make less money can pay less or no money.

This sounds very reasonable. (To read exciting novels, go to Faloo Novel Network!)

Liu Che immediately thought of introducing this tax in the Han Dynasty.

However.

Thinking about it again.

Liu Che felt that it would be difficult to implement this tax.

Because it is extremely difficult to figure out the income of everyone in the country.

Shaking his head regretfully, Liu Che kept this matter in his heart and planned to find someone to discuss it later.

What Liu Che didn't know was that, in a sense, he was the first person in world history to collect personal income tax.

In the fourth year of Yuanshou (119 BC), Liu Che adopted Sang Hongyang's suggestion and launched the policy of Suan Min Ling.

The general content is:

Merchants, craftsmen and other wealthy people declare their own property to the government, and they need to pay a tax of one tael (one hundred and twenty taels) for every two thousand taels;

If they are engaged in salt boiling, iron casting, and money making, they need to pay a tax of one tael for every four thousand taels;

If they are businessmen, they need to pay a tax for each vehicle (called a carriage at that time);

If they are boatmen, they need to pay a tax according to the size of the boat, if the length of the boat exceeds five meters.

This Suan Min Order can be regarded as the first personal income tax in the world.

……[]

Except Liu Che.

In other dynasties, there are also many emperors who have thought about setting up "personal income tax".

But they also thought of the same difficulty: it is impossible to count.

Under the conditions of ancient China, it is too difficult to accurately count everyone's income.

If this problem is not solved, it will be impossible to collect personal income tax like in later generations.

……

[Venezuela - Breathing Tax. 】

[Breathing is a normal physiological phenomenon for people, but in Venezuelan airports, breathing is taxed. ]

[In order to "protect the health of passengers", the Maiquetia Airport in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, built an air conditioning system covering the airport building. The system can purify the air with ozone, allowing people entering the airport to breathe clean air. ]

[So, the airport introduced a "weird" tax - "breathing tax". ]

[This tax requires all passengers and staff entering the airport building to pay a fee of 127 Bolivars (about 20 US dollars). ]

……

Many ancient people in all dynasties were shocked:

Breathing is taxed?

It's outrageous!

What's the difference between this and robbing money?

Even many corrupt officials in the past dynasties who were good at exploiting the people in various pretexts were sighing in their hearts at this time:

"There are always stronger ones among the strong!"

Even breathing was taxed, which really opened their eyes.

……

[Ancient Greece, the British Empire, and the Gallic Empire - window tax. ]

[In ancient Greece, windows facing the street or windows that opened outward were taxed. ]

[The window tax was not unique to ancient Greece. In 1696, during the reign of William III in the British Empire, in order to mint more coins, a tax was imposed on the windows of buildings, which was called the window tax. ]

[The specific regulations are: any house with less than 10 windows is taxed 2 shillings; if there are 10 to 20 windows, it is taxed 6 shillings; if there are more than 20 windows, it is taxed 10 shillings. 】

【Later, the window tax of the British Empire was introduced to Gaul through Italy and was modified to be called "door and window tax" - tax was collected according to the number of doors and windows. 】

【So, the Gauls began to renovate houses in large numbers, and it was common for several families to open one door, and it was common to have one window above, below, left, and right. 】

【So now when you travel to Europe, you will see that many traditional European buildings have these characteristics: either there are very few windows, or there are windows but a few are blocked, and some buildings even have only fake windows for decoration or painting...】

...

The ancients of all dynasties were stunned again.

This is another tax that is outrageous to the extreme.

And the ancients couldn't figure out what the basis for collecting this tax was?

The breathing tax mentioned above was only collected when you went to the airport.

Who is bothered by opening a window in your own home? Why should this tax be collected?

Isn’t this robbery?

…(Zhao Ma Zhao)

[The Sun Never Sets Country – Coffin Tax. ]

[Like Cactus Country, the Sun Never Sets Country is also a country of fat people. As mentioned above, it also levied a “sugar tax” in imitation of Cactus Country. ]

[But what’s even more amazing about the Sun Never Sets Country is that it “never lets go” of fat people “until death.” ]

[In the Sun Never Sets Country, the standard width of a coffin is 23 inches (about 58 cm). If the deceased isIf the body is fat and needs to be widened, a "coffin tax" will be imposed. 】

……

"Ah... the fat people in the land of the sun never sets are so pitiful."

Many ancient people in the dynasties expressed sympathy for the fat people in the land of the sun never sets.

They were charged a "sugar tax" during their lifetime and a "coffin tax" after their death.

It's just too miserable.

……

[Turkey - face washing tax. ]

[In May 2007, Turkish President Sesser approved the tax law amendment regulations. ]

[According to the regulations, Turkish people have to pay three taxes at the same time when they turn on the faucet to wash their faces. ]

[The first tax is the "environmental cleaning tax", which has always been called the "garbage tax" by the people of Turkey. ]

[The second tax is called the "sewage fee", which is collected by the government at 50% of the tap water fee. 】

[The third tax is the "value-added tax" (different from the same tax in my country). Both families and offices have to pay this fee, which is charged at 18% of the water fee. 】

[It seems that the people of Turkey can't even afford to wash their faces. 】

[In fact, Turkey is not limited to collecting taxes under various pretexts. 】

[For example, users who open a mobile phone for the first time have to pay a "special communication tax" of US$15, and cable TV users have to pay a "special communication tax" equivalent to 15% of the value of the TV. 】

……

"Ah! Just washing your face, you have to collect three taxes???"

The ancient people of all dynasties were dumbfounded.

It is outrageous enough to collect taxes for washing your face, and collecting three taxes is even more outrageous.

Because of the previous video, the ancients had a bad impression of Turkey, so at this moment many ancients couldn't help but curse:

"The court of Turkey is simply incompetent and greedy!".