11. Which Roman emperor levied a tax on, of all things, the collection of urine?
From Quiz Tax Facts
Answer:
Nero
In ancient Rome, urine was used in the tanning of leather and also by the laundresses who kept all those senatorial togas sparkling white (urine, of course, contains ammonia, a bleaching agent). The tanners and the laundresses collected the urine from public toilets (yes, they had such facilities in the Rome of those days) and used it to ply their trades.
It was Nero who hit on the idea of taxing the urine collectors as a means of swelling the public coffers. The tax was later repealed (I guess the citizens raised a bit of a stink about it), but it was reinstated by Nero's successor, Emperor Vespasian. When Vespasian's son Titus wrinkled his nose and expressed his disgust about taxing urine, dear old dad held up a gold coin and said, "Non olet!" (translation: "This doesn't stink!)
Oddly enough, even though it was Nero who invented the tax, it is Vespasian's name that is associated with it. In France, public urinals are known as vespasiennes, in Italy, they are vespasiani, and in Rumania, the gentlemen head for the vespasiene when nature calls.