We've already presented some curious types of tax. But probably no story has ever had as many twists as that of the „sparrow tax“! Curious? 😉

We travel back to Germany in the 18th century.

It is recorded that Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg demanded a hefty 12 kreuzer sparrow tax from his subjects in 1789. They could only avoid the tax by catching a dozen sparrows and delivering them alive to the relevant office.

The Duke of Württemberg and many other rulers of the time pursued a specific goal with the sparrow tax.

Twist 1
The fewer sparrows flew around freely, the less they were able to snack on the farmers' grain. However, this was by no means for the benefit of the latter. The more grain was left in the fields, the higher the tithe to be paid, i.e. the tax the farmers had to pay to the lords.
Sounds obvious, doesn't it?

Twist 2
So obvious that resourceful citizens in the 18th century even started breeding sparrows themselves!

Clever, isn't it? 😉 The tax authorities are no longer satisfied with sparrows.

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