| Often one of the most controversial and | | | | such windows leads itself to the common phrase |
| misunderstood subjects that anyone can study or read | | | | 'daylight robbery'. |
| about in the newspapers, tax planning in various forms | | | | Income tax was brought into play, in order to finance |
| has been around for centuries. In the following article, I | | | | the building of troops and artillery in order to be able to |
| outline a number of tax planning strategies that were | | | | fight the French. Previous to this there was no such |
| adopted to avoid some of the more obscure taxes in | | | | thing as income tax, indirect taxes were charged on |
| the UK that were in place several hundred years ago. | | | | consumables, a primitive form of value added tax in |
| In its wisdom, the UK government at one point decided | | | | order to raise revenues. |
| to tax windows (not the Microsoft Software), on the | | | | Amusingly, there was also a tax on hats, as it was |
| basis that only affluent individuals would have the | | | | viewed by the government that the bigger the hat you |
| required money to be up to pay for something as | | | | have the more money you had, and therefore the |
| extravagant as window. Clearly something which is | | | | more tax you pay the Treasury. The most basic tax |
| now a day-to-day necessity in terms of enabling light | | | | planning that one could ever use in these days, was by |
| to enter the house, was once seen as a luxury. In | | | | wearing a shorter hat, or to mitigate one's liability to |
| order to get around paying window tax, it was often | | | | have tax permanently, one didn't wear a hat. Tax |
| easy to brick-up Windows and stop and light getting in, | | | | planning has always been around and will continue to |
| therefore mitigating one's liability to window tax. | | | | do so as long as governments continue to levy |
| Wandering around cities such as London today, you | | | | charges on individuals for consuming items or for their |
| can often see windows in old buildings that have been | | | | lifestyle choices. |
| bricked up. This practice, and the practice of taxing | | | | |