The Window Tax was introduced in 1696. Houses with 10 or fewer windows were charged a two-shilling house tax, but bigger properties with more windows were liable for much greater costs.

It was brought in as a way of taxing the rich – with the idea that the richer you were, the more windows you were likely to have, but it didn’t take into account how many poorer people actually lived in urban areas.

In towns and cities, it was rare for working class people to live in individual homes – they were more likely to live in large buildings that were divided into flats. But for the purposes of the tax, they were considered to live in the whole building and were charged significant taxes as a result.

This led to many people bricking up their windows to avoid the taxes – which had a natural impact upon public health due to a lack of daylight within homes. The tax remained in place for over 150 years, eventually being repealed in 1851.

Beard Tax

Peter the Great was the Tsar of all Russia and their first Emperor, who modernised the country in the 17th and 18th Centuries.

But while he brought in sweeping reforms to make the country a major European power – there was one thing he couldn’t get on board with.

Beards.

Yes, Peter the Great hated beards, seeing them as a symbol of the past he was trying to get Russia away from.

He introduced a beard tax – an annual 100 rouble fee to keep the facial hair. Those who paid it were issued a medal as proof of payment stating ‘this beard is a useless burden’.

Those who refused to pay the tax were publicly and forcibly shaved.

Hat Tax

If the wealthy had it or wanted it, it was taxed in the 18th Century.

In 1784, then-Great Britain Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger introduced a tax on hats to raise funds. Shops were required to buy special licenses to sell them and duty was imposed on the hats on a sliding scale depending upon how expensive they were.

The theory was, that rich people would buy and own many hats compared to poorer people and that this was a solid means of taxing those who were well off.