Taxes can apply to different sources. Historically, this is usually about taxes on income or on assets. The latter category certainly includes the window tax, which in the past existed as a special form of basic taxation. In fact, several centuries ago, there was a window tax in many European countries. These include in particular England and France as well as Sweden. Through the first two countries, the window tax was also collected in other countries: Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and Wales. About 100 years ago, however, the window tax was abolished again. But recently she seems to be making a small comeback.

1st Window Control – Introduction

Taxes are omnipresent. They accompany us both in everyday life and to special events at every step. The best example of the former category is certainly the sales tax. But examples can also be found for the second category, such as the inheritance and gift tax or the solidarity surcharge. This applies both to taxes in Germany and internationally.

So although we are familiar with taxes, we should still briefly look at their purpose. Because at all times taxpayers at least looked with suspicion at the taxes concerning them. If you know that taxes in classical feudal societies were mostly used to finance a luxurious lifestyle of the respective elites at the expense of the poorer population, this is certainly understandable. Nowadays, the purpose of taxes is quite different in many details, but often the legitimate question arises whether taxes make sense.

This question arises above all in the case of taxes related to special circumstances. That is why the solidarity surcharge has been criticised for some time, because this levy seems to have already fulfilled its original purpose. Another aspect that often leads to criticism of taxes is the question of justice. Moreover – and closely related to the point of view of justice – the factor of taxation in exceptional contexts is often questionable.

This category certainly also includes the window tax, which was levied in the past in some European countries. We will now briefly report on this.

When and where was there a window control?

First of all, we clarify the historically associated questions with the window control, i.e. the when, where and how of its application. In the next chapter we will look at the exact tax context that triggered this particular tax.

In any case, the window tax is a purely historically relevant tax that has (almost) no meaning nowadays. But it is interesting in that it serves as a historical example of exceptional taxes. With these we can then compare corresponding taxes as developed by our legislators in our time.

2.1. In which countries was there a window tax?

This question is easy to answer: a window tax was introduced by England, France and Sweden. Over England, the window tax there also applied in Ireland and Wales. Later, through the union with England, the window tax also came to Scotland. And via France, the window tax also came to Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain.

Recently, in 2016, a kind of window tax has even been introduced in Portugal. This is a kind of surcharge on property tax. It should justify a higher property value and thus a higher tax in the case of high sunlight and a beautiful view. In this case, one can rather speak of an indirect window control.

2.2. When was there a window tax?

2.2.1 Window tax in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales

England introduced the window tax in 1696. This happened under the reign of King William III. Initially it applied in England and Wales, later also in Ireland and Scotland. The rules for collecting the window tax changed over time. Increasingly, the state tightened the regulations and amount of the tax. No wonder, then, that the window tax became more and more unpopular. Nevertheless, the abolition came only in 1851. Industrialization probably also had a certain share of this, because the rental barracks for housing the factory workers and miners remained virtually windowless to avoid the window tax – and this had consequences.

2.2.2. Window tax in France

France introduced the window tax only about a hundred years after England. This was indirectly due to the French Revolution. After the overthrow of the monarchy, the taxation of windows and doors offered itself in particular because nobles had provided their numerous castles and palaces with many windows. They served to overwhelm everyone who dwelt there with the wealth of their owners. And that worked best if you shone them with a lot of light. But even the elaborately decorated windows themselves were an expression of exuberant wealth. It was only very late, namely in 1926, that France banned the window tax.

2.2.3 Window tax in Germany

With Napoleon Bonaparte, the window tax finally came to right-rhine Germany. But also in the Kingdom of Westphalia windows were subject to taxation. The five-window street in Kassel, which still exists today, is apparently reminiscent of those times when attempts were made to reduce or avoid the window tax by bricking up windows. But elsewhere in the region this street name is also present, so it points in the same direction.

In fact, the window tax spread even after the disappearance of the French in the German territories. For example, Prussia introduced a window tax in some territories under its control. At the latest after the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by the German Reich, the window tax finally disappeared in German lands in 1895.

But wait, what is happening in Viersen? In the summer of 2023, the city administration decided to introduce a window tax. The reason for this is simply the increased need for mammon. So the window control is reviving.

2.2.4. Window tax in Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Spain

Similar to Germany, it was after the invasion of Napoleonic troops in the Benelux countries as well as in Spain. Here, too, the occupying power introduced the domestic window tax. But it took partly until 1919 until she disappeared again, in this case in Belgium.

2.2.5. Window tax in Sweden

In 1743, the window tax entered Sweden. It only lasted until 1810.

Why the window tax was introduced

England was the first country to introduce the window tax. The reason for this was that they actually wanted to introduce an income tax. However, this was generally considered offensive, because it would have established a right of the state to control private income. The taxation of buildings and windows, on the other hand, could take place without an intrusion into the privacy of the subjects. Finally, the design basis for the building and window controls could be easily determined from the outside.

In addition, the stove tax already existed, which could only be determined by penetration into the private rooms of the taxpayers. It therefore led to an intervention by the state in the freedom of citizens. This restriction of civil liberties was therefore to be avoided. At the same time, they wanted to impose fair taxes, i.e. taxes based on objective criteria. The window control therefore seemed ideal.

It was similar in France after the revolution. Here, too, the newly acquired civil right was in the foreground, which was absolutely wanted to protect. So they looked at the window tax already known from England and introduced their own property tax on this basis.

4. How to Raise the Window Tax

Both windows and doors and gates were taxed. Over time, there were changing regulations on the number and position of house openings that were taxable. For example, at certain times only windows and doors on exterior facades were taxable, but later also those that led to courtyards. In addition, adjustments were sometimes made to the amount of the respective tax. At least in France, the tax also depended on the size of the population in the respective municipality. In large cities, a higher window tax was charged than in the countryside. Even more curious may seem, however, that sometimes even ventilation holes were regarded as windows and taxed accordingly. At least this is known from England.

5th Consequences of the Window Control

When the window tax was introduced in England, there were two trends. High-net-worth people first set it up so that as much tax as possible was due. Thus, windows were considered prestige objects. The advantage was that this prestige was easily visible from the outside. Because just as well as the tax collectors, all other people who passed a taxable building could measure the amount of the window tax.

But the window control also had dark sides – in the truest sense of the word. For the poorer sections of the population, the window tax meant a burden that could be easily avoided. You just had to reduce the number of windows. This was done either by bricking up existing windows (which led to so-called blind windows) or, in the case of new buildings, by a maximum reduction in the number of installed windows.

As a result, it was precisely in the working-class districts, which consisted of houses rented to factory workers and other propertyless persons, that corresponding hygienic and health side effects occurred. In particular, rickets, which were then also called the English disease, made themselves felt by the poverty of daylight and the associated lack of vitamin D. Unsurprisingly, other diseases also increased while life expectancy declined.

These effects were also observed in France. Thus, in his famous work Les Miserable, Victor Hugo puts the following intensification in the mouth of a bishop regarding the window tax in his sermon:

“Ah! God gives air to men, the law sells it to them.”

So it was clear that the window tax had extremely negative effects. Nevertheless, it took a while before they were abolished.

6. What we can learn from the window control idea

It is said that one can form a virtue out of a need. The window control proves that it also works the other way around. The original solution, which attempted to circumvent the introduction of a controversial income tax in England and at the same time sought to replace an at least equally unpopular hearth tax, had initially resulted in a tax that seemed at least superficially fair. Finally, the window tax affected wealthy layers much more than poorer ones. But over time, as more and more people found the only source of income in factories and coal mines in the course of industrialization, it was the landlords of the rental barracks who, in order to save taxes, forgot as many windows as possible. The consequences already described were indeed drastic.

Anyone who sees new tax ideas coming and going today should remember this historical example. Absorbing new tax sources, such as cryptocurrencies or solar power, may be tempting for the state, but you should always deal with the potential effects exhaustively. Communication of these details is of particular importance. Because general approval often depends on convincing the taxpayers who are to pay these new taxes of their sense. In any case, introducing taxes solely to increase state income is not a strong argument. If, however, one can see that the taxation presented brings significant advantages, a rejection would be foolish. This is arguably the only advantageous option for introducing new taxes.