George Harrison wrote the famously bitter Beatles track Taxman after realizing that the top income tax bracket in the United Kingdom at the time was literally taking ninety-five percent of his earnings.

A closer look

George Harrison wrote the famously bitter Beatles track Taxman after realizing that the top income tax bracket in the United Kingdom at the time was literally taking ninety-five percent of his earnings. For all the peace, love, and counterculture revolution the band represented, their most aggressive rock song was essentially just a multimillionaire complaining about having to pay the government. It is incredibly refreshing to realize that even musical geniuses who supposedly transcended materialistic desires will still throw an absolute fit when the taxman comes to collect his share of the touring revenue. They might have wanted to hold your hand and live in a yellow submarine, but they definitely drew the line at funding public infrastructure and the national health service with their hard-earned record royalties