TAXING WINDOWS !?

Various governments have along the years increasingly found ways of 'charging' their citizens as it were a 'little' amount of money they call tax, to ensure that their state avoids going into liquidation or to put it more constructively to fund benevolent activities of the state for its citizens as a commune. My research on tax origins in its current format are quite interesting! It started off in Africa, as usual Egypt is the culprit, and amongst many items they coveniently taxed cooking oil! http://www.taxworld.org/History/TaxHistory.htm

The one I found profoundly interesting however was a tax on windows in the UK, no not the Microsoft windows, yes the glass imbedded in house and building structures was taxed by King William III in 1696 as a means of solving a financial crisis created by wars in Ireland and on the continent. Tax was paid on any house with more than six windows, as usual the population tried to 'cheat' its way out of it and that was by amongst other ways, bricking up your one or two windows. The tax was replaced after over 160 years (proves how difficult it is and how long it takes to remove a tax once introduced through the August house) later in 1851 with house duty.

I bet Zimbabwe could learn a lesson or two from the window tax.