Legal Definitions - window tax

Definition: Window tax is a type of tax imposed by the government on the number of windows in a building. It was a tax on the number of windows in a house, which was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries in England and France. The more windows a house had, the more tax the owner had to pay.

Example: For example, if a house had ten windows, the owner would have to pay more tax than if the house had only five windows. This tax was unpopular because it was seen as unfair to people who lived in large houses with many windows.

Explanation: The example illustrates the definition of window tax by showing how the tax was calculated based on the number of windows in a house. The more windows a house had, the more tax the owner had to pay. This tax was unpopular because it was seen as unfair to people who lived in large houses with many windows.