For many years, debates on the change of the real estate tax system have been underway in Poland. The proposed reform would consist in the change from the currently binding method of calculating the amount of tax in relation to the real estate area to ad valorem taxation, in other words its property value. Although the law in force in Poland describes the cadastral tax definition and the methodology for its determination, there are no actions aimed at changing the tax system. A huge social reluctance resulting mainly from the belief that changes in the field of land taxes will be associated with an increase in fees cause stagnation at government level in making decision in this direction. However, the cadastral tax is not something new in Poland. It appeared, in various shapes, at many stages in the history of the Polish State. The subject of the work is the historical analysis of land cadastre and real estate taxation in Poland. The aim of the article is to show the methodological complexity in property taxation, with particular emphasis on the systems of calculating taxation in relation to the value of owned goods appearing in the history of Polish taxes.