The Window Tax

Today in History, December 31, 1695:

The Window Tax.

If it can be taxed, a politician will find a way. And this is nothing new.

In 17th Century England, an “income tax” was greatly resisted…the people considered it to be an invasion of their privacy for the government to know what they possessed (sound familiar?)

So the government decided that the more windows someone had in their home, the more wealthy they must be.

Thus taxes were based on how may windows one had in their residence. This soon spread to Scotland and France also.

Of course then, as today, the wealthy knew how to avoid taxes…and that is why you will still find many ancient European buildings with their windows bricked up…fewer windows meant fewer taxes.

The tax would finally be repealed in 1851. Only to be replaced by income taxes….of course…..