Short answer England introduced a tax based on the number of windows in 1696 and repealed it in 1851. Houses with windows blocked to avoid it still survive.
An old house with windows blocked by stone and brick. You can still find houses like this across Britain.
In 1696 England introduced a window tax. It taxed a house according to how many windows it had.
People then hated the idea of an income tax. They didn't want to disclose what they earned. Windows could be counted from outside, so it was easy.
They blocked up windows to dodge tax?
A window space packed solid with brick. Some houses kept the spaces to reglaze once the tax was gone.
The bigger the house and the more windows, the higher the tax. It made wealthier households pay more.
This tax was repealed in 1851. France had one too, from 1798 to 1926.
Back when even sunlight got taxed
Watch it as a short
Sources
Photo credits
- Window Tax maybe^ - geograph.org.uk - 45159.jpg, Kate Jewell, CC BY-SA 2.0 (source)
- Bricked-up window by the Rochdale Canal, Brearley (5212774004).jpg, Tim Green from Bradford, CC BY 2.0 (source)
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