Business Notes FUND RAISING

Is the view from your office so nice that you should be charged admission? In Hartford, companies are being asked to pay a voluntary fee of $10-per-window for the privilege of gazing upon the vintage architecture and serene greenery of the Old State House building, which is now home to a museum. Wilson Faude, the statehouse's executive director, came up with the view tax as a fund- raising gimmick. The total panes with a view: 4,153.

Faude sent bills to the occupants of those offices last week, and already two companies have paid up: a savings bank (94 panes) and an insurance firm (twelve). How will Faude enforce his tax on neighbors who would rather view for free? He jokes, "The next time the window washers come around, somebody may find their view has been painted out."