7. The Window Tax of 1696 gave us the expression ‘daylight robbery’
In 1696, Parliament first passed the notorious Window Tax. This ingenious scheme charged people tax based on the number of windows on their house. The more windows, the bigger the house, and the wealthier the owner: fair enough? Well, the English did not respond at all positively. The king, William of Orange, was taxing light, for goodness’ sake! In response, many people simply bricked up their windows to avoid paying the tax. Parliament scrapped Window Tax in 1851. The expression, ‘daylight robbery‘, comes from the Window Tax. Rather than robbery in broad daylight, it means the literal theft of daylight.
