Member-only story
Belgium’s Multi-Million Dollar Sheep
But not the bionic or cloned marvels you may be imagining
As the horrors of World War II began gradually to fade and reconstruction became the topic of daily conversation, many European countries found themselves short of cash. Yes, the US Marshall Plan was very promising but it would come nowhere near to covering all the costs of attempting to rebuild entire societies and economies ravished by war. Belgium in particular was struggling to balance its books, having been a major battle-ground across which the Axis and Allied forces shot, shelled, and bombed each other with alacrity.
Not surprisingly, most governments turned to the idea of increasing taxation in order to bridge the gap between revenues and expenditures. As most ordinary working people were still struggling to get by, however, there were fewer options available than eager governments would have liked. In the end most European countries created a range of ad hoc taxes that were more or less aimed at those who’d inherited their wealth. After all, unlike most people, these folk actually had something to spare. Belgium took this path and decided to tax people based on the amount of land and size of house(s) they owned.
Farms, however, would be excepted because it would have been economically insane to tax farmers in the same way. Even bureaucrats and politicians…
