stackyFACTSWhy let the working class start a fire for free when you can monetize it? In 1871, the government slapped a duty on matches, sparking immediate outrage and massive protests from matchgirls, ultimately proving that taxing the literal spark of light is a fantastic way to ignite a political disaster.
Keep exploring facts in this topic.
Economy →STACKY FOR IPHONEKeep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
The most beloved annual tradition was born from artillery shells. Originally pitched as a temporary patriotic measure during the Civil War, the federal…
Discover more
If you want to know why so many classic British rock stars suddenly moved to France or America, look no further than the tax code. Under a bizarrely punitive…
Discover more
Internal Revenue Service guidelines explicitly require US taxpayers to declare income generated from bribes, theft, and illegal drug sales on their annual tax…
Discover more
Governments occasionally treat children like highly valuable livestock. Early child tax exemptions were originally structured to wildly favor families who…
Discover more
Russian Emperor Peter the Great implemented an annual tax on facial hair in 1698 to force his citizens to adopt modern Western European grooming standards. If…
Discover more
In many regions, a microscopic dusting of wheat entirely changes a product's financial destiny. Items containing flour, like Twix or KitKat, are legally…
Discover more