Christmas, and tax time, are here

Our Christmas traditions include hanging on our tree all the U.S. Capitol ornaments we collected during our years in the Washington,D.C., area. (Photo by Kay Bell)

Christmas is just days away. As long-time readers of the ol’ blog know, I love this holiday. And like millions of others worldwide, the hubby and I enjoy our holiday traditions.

One of them is watching Christmas movies. A particular favorite is “A Christmas Carol.” It even has a passing reference to taxes.

A classic’s tax reference: In the classic Charles Dickens’ novella and subsequent cinematic representations, the infamous penny pincher Ebenezer Scrooge rebuffs a request to donate to charities that provide for the needy. Instead, Scrooge says the poor should go to the workhouses paid for by his tax dollars.

It’s no spoiler to say that after some supernatural Christmas Eve encounters, Scrooge becomes a changed man.

But the tax remark got me searching for other holiday-related references and levies. An internet search turned up several, but today’s Saturday Shout Out goes, fittingly given the Dickens’ inspiration, to a United Kingdom-based global tax technology firm, Innovate Tax.

Christmas’ long-standing tax connections: In a post for Innovate Tax’s blog, Peter Nicholson writes, “The holiday season is a time of joy, celebration, and, interestingly enough, taxes. Throughout history, various taxes and laws have been associated with Christmas, reflecting the unique ways governments have interacted with this festive period.”

He provides details on some intriguing Christmas-related taxes and regulations in 5 Christmas taxes you never knew existed. Actually, he also examines four other notable tax mentions with Christmas connections.

Here’s a quick preview. They include a tree tax, a couple of debt laws affected by the holiday’s date, and seasonal travel taxes.

Check them out. And if you know of other Christmas/holiday taxes that should be added to the list, please let us know by leaving specifics as a comment.

Now, I’m off to watch some football, and later today, my favorite film version of “A Christmas Carol,” the one with George C. Scott as a booming, intimidating, and ultimately more compassionate Ebenezer Scrooge.

And like the eventually reformed Scrooge, I also will endeavor to keep his promise to “honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” 

You also might find these items of interest:

• 5 gift ideas from Tax Santa
• Tax and other gifts of the MAGI
• Real vs. Fake: Christmas tree (and tax) considerations
• Tab for 12 True Love gifts of Christmas in 2024 tops $49,000

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