Yes, the New York Bagel Tax Is a Real (and Ridiculous) Thing

Taxes are an inevitable part of life. Whether or not we like it (and honestly, I've yet to meet someone who enjoys being taxed, have you?) there is a cost to everything that we do.

Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy all the way back in 1789 and in his candid note, he wrote, “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” However, it wasn’t Franklin who (is almost always credited with) came up with the phrase. The phrase was first known to have been put into writing by a British stage actor by the name of Christopher Bullock in his work, “The Cobbler of Preston” published in 1716 in which he wrote, “’ Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes.”

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No matter who wrote it first, it is a fact that birth, death, and taxes are a guaranteed part of life. But what we're taxed on has changed through the years and we thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the more "odd" things that people have had to pay tax on (and in some cases, the even more bizarre reasons why) including the fact that New Yorkers who ask for their bagel to be sliced will have to pay extra for that single swipe of a knife.