Why France still has a window tax

Napoleon is famous not only for his participation in hostilities and his love for Josephine. The great ruler introduced in France in 1798, an interesting from the point of view of an uninitiated person, a tax on windows and doors.

This type of tax originates not from the emperor, but from foggy England, where it was introduced in the middle of the 17th century. By the way, the experience of England was adopted not only by France, but also by Holland.

It originated as a luxury tax. Glass production during this period was very expensive. Fragile transparent plates could only be afforded by the real rich. All the money went to the state treasury and allowed the cities of that time to develop.

This tax essentially had a colossal impact on the architecture of European cities of that period. Remember the pictures and photos from the history textbook. Tall and narrow buildings with tiny window openings.

The tax on windows and doors also triggered the emergence of the so-called "French window", when windows and doors are combined into one.

In order to reduce the tax burden, the poor were forced to brick the window openings and paint the windows on the facade of the building. In our modern time, it seems wild, and an infringement of human rights to a healthy living environment.

By the way, some rich people of medieval France, wanting to stand out from their surroundings, made specially huge windows in houses and estates. Thus, showing that they are successful and do not feel the need.

The effect of the tax has continued to this day, because the tax has simply been modified and acquired many amendments. For example, its size is influenced by: the total number of holes in the house on the outside of the building (even ventilation and boarded up holes); the number of people living in the community on the balance sheet of which this building is located; the price of renting and renting apartments in the house.

The tax seems not rational, but nevertheless brings money to the budget. Do you think such a tax would have taken root in Russian realities?

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