1. Window tax

No. 1 on our list of ridiculous taxes has to do with houses with many windows. Although it sounds absurd, the Window Tax of 1696 was actually a relatively smart way of imposing an income tax on the wealthy without ever calling it that.

Affecting Scotland and England in the 18th and 19th centuries, this tax on windows was meant as a tax on the rich, as people with more income usually live in nicer, bigger houses, which generally have more than two windows. Quite ingenious, isn’t it?

While this tax eventually led to the bricking up of many windows, it also led to an equitable and less arbitrary income tax that honed in on wealthier citizens.