In 1696 England brought a new property tax onto the scene.  After the hearth property tax, well they thought they’d give it another try.  Instead of taxing homes based on the number hearths (like they had tried earlier), this new methodology was directed at windows.

Property taxes started with a base fee for each building or home and then an additional amount was added based on the number of windows in the building.  The concept was that windows represented wealth and therefore those with more windows should pay more taxes.

Some of the taxpayers attempted to block up windows or camouflage them so that they would not be counted on assessment day.  Like many previous attempts at property taxation, the public did not take to the window tax.  Eventually the tax was modified to take into account more than just windows and in 1784 it became the Assessed Tax, which is a predecessor to the system of property tax that we have come to love today…