Replication data for: The Window Tax: A Case Study in Excess Burden
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Wallace E. Oates; Robert M. Schwab
Version: View help for Version V1
Name | File Type | Size | Last Modified |
---|---|---|---|
data | 10/12/2019 05:59:PM | ||
LICENSE.txt | text/plain | 14.6 KB | 10/12/2019 01:59:PM |
Project Citation:
Oates, Wallace E., and Schwab, Robert M. Replication data for: The Window Tax: A Case Study in Excess Burden. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2015. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E113941V1
Project Description
Summary:
View help for Summary
The window tax provides a dramatic and transparent historical example of the potential distorting
effects of taxation. Imposed in England in 1696, the tax—a kind of predecessor of the modern
property tax—was levied on dwellings with the tax liability based on the number of windows. The
tax led to efforts to reduce tax bills through such measures as the boarding up of windows and the
construction of houses with very few windows. In spite of the pernicious health and aesthetic
effects and despite widespread protests, the tax persisted for over a century and a half: it was
finally repealed in 1851. Our purpose in this paper is threefold. First, we provide a brief history of
the tax with a discussion of its rationale, its role in the British fiscal system, and its economic and
political ramifications. Second, we have assembled a dataset from microfilms of local tax records
during this period that indicate the numbers of windows in individual dwellings. Drawing on these
data, we are able to test some basic hypotheses concerning the effect of the tax on the number of
windows and to calculate an admittedly rough measure of the excess burden associated with the
window tax. Third, we have in mind a pedagogical objective. The concept of excess burden (or
"deadweight loss") is for economists part of the meat and potatoes of tax analysis. But to the laity
the notion is actually rather arcane; public-finance economists often have some difficulty, for
example, in explaining to taxpayers the welfare costs of tax-induced distortions in resource
allocation. The window tax is a textbook example of how a tax can have serious adverse side effects
on social welfare. In addition to its objectionable consequences for tax equity, the window tax
resulted in obvious and costly misallocations of resources.
Scope of Project
JEL Classification:
View help for JEL Classification
H22 Taxation and Subsidies: Incidence
H25 Business Taxes and Subsidies including sales and value-added (VAT)
H32 Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Firm
H71 State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
N43 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: Europe: Pre-1913
H22 Taxation and Subsidies: Incidence
H25 Business Taxes and Subsidies including sales and value-added (VAT)
H32 Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: Firm
H71 State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
N43 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: Europe: Pre-1913
Related Publications
Published Versions
Report a Problem
Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.
This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.