On this day, the much despised window tax, first introduced in England in 1696, was finally repealed. At that time, income tax was considered a governmental intrusion into private matters and a threat to personal liberty. As a consequence, the window tax was invented as a way of raising revenue. It was designed as a progressive tax, so the more windows you had, the more tax you paid. Properties with fewer than ten windows paid a flat rate of two shillings. The tax was modified over time and different thresholds for the minimum numbers needed to trigger the tax were used. The response of many wealthy property owners was to brick up just enough windows to fall below the threshold. There was great support for the abolition of the tax during the winter of 1850-51, including that of the writer Charles Dickens who argued that “Neither air nor light have been free since the imposition of the window tax.”
Repeal of Despised Window Tax
24th July 1851