Q 01/05

Which English tax of 1696 led some homeowners to brick up openings in their walls?

A) Hearth tax

B) Window tax

C) Candle tax

D) Glass tax

Answer · why

B) Window tax

Window tax charged a house by the number of windows it had, so some owners simply blocked a few up. The bricked-in outlines can be seen on buildings o...

Q 02/05

Which Russian ruler taxed beards in 1698, making men who paid carry a metal token as proof?

A) Ivan the Terrible

B) Catherine the Great

C) Peter the Great

D) Nicholas II

Answer · why

C) Peter the Great

Peter the Great wanted Russian men to look like clean-shaven Western Europeans, so keeping a beard came at a price. Catherine the Great finally repeal...

Q 03/05

Which Chicago gangster was finally jailed in 1931 for tax evasion rather than bootlegging or murder?

A) Al Capone

B) John Dillinger

C) Bugs Moran

D) Lucky Luciano

Answer · why

A) Al Capone

Al Capone was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison after being charged with 22 counts of tax evasion. He served part of the term on the newly o...

Q 04/05

In legend, which noblewoman rode naked through Coventry to make her husband lift his heavy taxes?

A) Lady Jane Grey

B) Lady Godiva

C) Queen Matilda

D) Anne Boleyn

Answer · why

B) Lady Godiva

Lady Godiva's ride is first recorded in the 13th century, more than a century after she died, and historians doubt it happened. Later versions added P...

Q 05/05

Which Beatle wrote the 1966 song Taxman in protest at a 95 per cent supertax on top earners in Britain?

A) Lennon

B) McCartney

C) Harrison

D) Starr

Answer · why

C) Harrison

George Harrison wrote it after finding out how little of the Beatles' income was left once Harold Wilson's Labour government had taken its share. It o...