The wallpaper tax was a
property tax
A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
introduced in Great Britain in 1712, during the reign of
Queen Anne. Patterned, printed, or painted
wallpaper
Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" (so t ...
was initially taxed at 1
d per
square yard
The square yard (Northern India: gaj, Pakistan: gaz) is an imperial unit and U.S. customary unit of area. It is in widespread use in most of the English-speaking world, particularly the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Pakistan and India. ...
, rising to 1
s (equivalent to £ as of ), by 1809. The tax was bypassed by purchasing untaxed plain paper and having it hand
stencil
Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...
ed. The tax was abolished in 1836.
See also
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Brick tax
The brick tax was a property tax introduced in Great Britain in 1784, during the reign of King George III, to help pay for the wars in the American Colonies. Bricks were initially taxed at 2 s 6 d per thousand. The brick tax was eventually abol ...
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Glass tax
The glass tax was introduced in Great Britain in 1746, during the reign of King George II. Originally, these acts taxed initially raw materials used for glass making. Glass was at that time sold by weight, and manufacturers responded by producing ...
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Hearth tax
A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is cons ...
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Window tax
Window tax was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. It was a significant social, cultural, and architectural force in England, France, and Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries. To avoid the tax, some houses from the pe ...
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
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History of taxation in the United Kingdom
History of taxation
Property taxes
Wallcoverings
Abolished taxes
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