Window Tax instead of Property Tax?

The 1911 Census required householders to state the number of front-facing windows in their dwellings.

Instead of asking householders to value their houses in a very uncertain market, the proposed property tax could be based on a windows count.

How about a tax of €100 per front-facing window or one-third of total windows which ever is the greater? It would be very easy for Revenue to check this and evasion by bricking up windows should be evident.

A window tax was used in the UK and France in the 19th century as an alternative to income tax and gave rise to the phrase "daylight robbery".

Letter published in Irish Times on 9th September 2009.