There are a number of strange taxes. In 2004, Maryland decided to impose a monthly fee of $2.50 on people who flush their toilets. The tax goes into a fund that helps to keep the Chesapeake Bay clean. In Chicago, fountain sodas have a tax rate of 9 percent, while canned and bottled sodas have a tax rate of 3 percent. Under a law that was overturned in 2006, Tennessee used to impose a tax on illegal drugs.
If a person in Tennessee got illegal drugs, he had 48 hours to report this to the Department of Revenue and pay taxes on the drugs. Doing so could not be used against the person in court. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. More than 150 streams and rivers drain into the bay.
The bay is 200 miles long and the tax is actually helpful in maintaining a bay that is so big and covers so many states. Even though it is a small tax, every bit helps in maintaining the bay.