A poll tax, head tax, or capitation is a tax of a uniform, fixed amount per individual (as opposed to a percentage of income). Such taxes were important sources of revenue for many countries into the 19th century, but this is no longer the case. There are several famous cases of poll taxes in history, notably a tax formerly required for voting in parts of the United States that was often designed to disenfranchise African Americans, Native Americans, and whites of non-British descent, as well as two taxes levied by John of Gaunt and Margaret Thatcher in the fourteenth and twentieth centuries respectively. A tax is an involuntary fee paid by individuals or businesses to a government. ... Disenfranchising refers to the removal of the ability to vote from a person or group of people. ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ... John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (June 24, 1340 - February 3, 1399), the third surviving son of King Edward III of England, gained his name because he was born at Ghent in 1340. ... Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC (born 13 October 1925) is a British politician and the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a position she held from 1979 to 1990. ...

The word poll is an English word that once meant "head", hence the name poll tax for a per-person tax. However, in the United States, the term has come to be used almost exclusively for a fixed tax applied to voting. Since "going to the polls" is a common idiom for voting (deriving, of course, from the fact that early voting involved head-counts), a new folk etymology has supplanted any knowledge of the phrase's true origins in America. A poll is either an election or a survey of a particular group. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Folk etymology is a linguistic term for the modification of a word or phrase based on an ahistorical analogy or an erroneous etymology which is popularly believed to be true. ...

The jizyah is a poll tax that, according to Islamic law, Islamic states must take from dhimmis (non-Muslim people of the Book). Jizyah is the Arabic language translation of Poll tax or head tax, a tax imposed on male individuals of other faiths living under Muslim rule. ... Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ... A Dhimmi, or Zimmi (Arabic ذمّي), as defined in classical Islamic legal and political literature, is a person living in a Muslim state who is a member of an officially tolerated non-Muslim religion. ... In Islam, People of the Book or ahl al Kitâb, Arabic: اهل الكتاب, are peoples who have, according to the Quran, received and possess the divine scriptures. ...

United States

The capitation clause of Article I of the United States Constitution, requiring apportionment among the states of "direct taxes", makes imposition of a poll tax by the federal government unfeasible. Article One of the United States Constitution establishes the legislative branch of government, Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is...

However, states sometimes made payment of a poll tax a pre-condition of the exercise of the right to vote. After the right to vote was extended to all races by the enactment of the Fifteenth Amendment, many Southern states enacted poll tax laws which often included a grandfather clause that allowed any adult male whose father or grandfather had voted to vote without paying the tax. These laws achieved the desired effect of disenfranchising African and Native Americans, as well as whites of non-British descent. Categories: U.S. Constitution | U.S. civil rights history | Reconstruction | Law stubs ... In the United States, a grandfather clause is an exception which allows something pre-existing to remain as it is, despite a change to the contrary in the rules applied to newer situations. ...

The Twenty-fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, outlawed the use of this tax (or any other tax) as a pre-condition in voting in Federal elections. A 1966 Supreme Court decision held that the poll tax as applied to state elections violated the equal protection clause of United States Constitution. Currently no state imposes a poll tax. Amendment XXIV (the Twenty-fourth Amendment) of the United States Constitution prohibits both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll or other type of tax. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... The Equal Protection Clause is a part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, providing that no state shall. ...

United Kingdom

John of Gaunt, the regent of Richard II of England, levied his poll tax in 1380 to finance the war against France that was in progress. Each person aged over 15 was required to pay the amount of one shilling, which was a large amount then. This provoked the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, due in part to attempts to restore feudal conditions in rural areas. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (June 24, 1340 - February 3, 1399), the third surviving son of King Edward III of England, gained his name because he was born at Ghent in 1340. ... There is also a play entitled Richard II by Shakespeare. ... Events September 8 - Battle of Kulikovo - Russian forces under Grand Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich defeat a mixed army of Tatars and Mongols (the Golden Horde), stopping their advance at Kulikovo. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... The shilling was a British coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first shilling. ... See Peasants War for the German Peasants Revolt of 1524-1526 See also: 1907 Romanian Peasants Revolt The Peasants Revolt or Great Rising was a popular revolt in late medieval Europe in 1381 and is a major event in the history of England. ... Events June 12 - Peasants Revolt: In England rebels arrive at Blackheath. ...

The Community Charge was introduced by the government of Margaret Thatcher. In 1985, Thatcher decided to act upon a long standing aspiration to replace the rating system of local taxes (based on the notional rental value of a house). The proposed replacement that emerged from consultations within the Department of the Environment, primarily between Lord Rothschild, William Waldegrave and Kenneth Baker, and which secured Mrs Thatcher's strong support, was for a Community Charge. This was a fixed tax per adult resident, hence a poll tax, although there was a reduction for low-income people. This charged each person for the services they received in their community. Due to the amount of local taxes paid by businesses varying, and the amount of grant provided by central government to individual local authorities sometimes varying capriciously, there were dramatic differences in the amount charged between boroughs, with Conservative boroughs often charging less. Margaret Hilda Roberts Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC (born 13 October 1925) is a British politician and the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a position she held from 1979 to 1990. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rates are a form of taxation system in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, such as New Zealand, historically used to fund local government. ... William Arthur Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill, PC (born August 15, 1946), educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford and now a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford is a British Conservative politician who served in the Cabinet from 1990 until 1997. ... Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking, PC, is an British politician, and former Conservative MP. He served as Secretary of State for the Home Department, Secretary of State for Education, and Secretary of State for the Environment. ...

This proposal was contained in the Conservative Manifesto for the 1987 General Election. The legislation introducing the Community Charge was passed in 1988 and the new tax replaced the rates in Scotland from the start of the 1989/90 financial year and in England and Wales from the start of the 1990/91 financial year. The tax was not implemented in Northern Ireland, which continued, as it still does, to levy the rating system, despite some unionists calling for the province to have the same taxation system as the rest of the United Kingdom. That the tax was introduced in Scotland a year before England and Wales was another fatal political mistake for Thatcher - the already low support of her policies north of the border turned into even greater animosity, and planted seeds of distrust towards the Conservatives within the Scottish people which continues to haunt the Conservative Party to the present day. The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the right in the United Kingdom. ... A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. ... The UK general election, 1987 was held on June 11, 1987 and was the third victory in a row for Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country or nation and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... For alternate meanings, see Wales (disambiguation) National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Official languages: English and Welsh Capital: Cardiff First Minister: Rhodri Morgan AM Area  - Total:  - % water: Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 km² xx% Population  - Total (2001):  - Density: Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085 140/km² NUTS... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Northern Ireland is an administrative region and one of four parts of the United Kingdom. ...

It was thought to be unfair as the tax burden shifted from the estimated price of a house to the number of people living in it, with the perceived effect of shifting the tax burden from the rich to the poor. It did not help that Margaret Thatcher chose to champion the Community Charge herself and apparently chose to be both ruthless in imposing it and adamant that there would be no "U-turns" (reversals in policy).

Additional problems emerged when many of the tax rates set by local councils proved to be much higher than many earlier predictions. Some have argued that local councils saw the introduction of the new system of taxation as the opportunity to make significant increases in the amount taken, assuming (correctly) that it would be the originators of the new tax system and not its local operators who would be blamed.

The charge was bitterly opposed and people sought to protest through mass protests and autonomous local Anti Poll Tax Unions, often initiated by the Militant Tendency. In Scotland, where the tax was implemented first, the APTU's and the Militant Tendency called for mass non-payment. These calls rapidly gathered widespread support in Scotland and then in England and Wales, even though non-payment meant that people could be prosecuted. The Militant Tendency was a Trotskyist faction within the Labour Party in the UK, practicing entryist tactics. ...

As the charges began to rise up to 18 million people refused to pay and enforcement measures became increasingly draconian, unrest mounted and culminated in a number of riots. The most serious of these happened in London on March 31, 1990, during a protest at Trafalgar Square, London, which more than 200,000 protesters attended (see also Poll tax riot). Categories: Stub | Riots ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years). ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other places with the same name, see Trafalgar_Square(disambiguation). ... Greater London and the Regions of England. ... The Poll Tax Riots, as they became known, were major acts of civil disobedience carried out in England and Scotland. ...

Politicians of the governing Conservative Party came to the conclusion that their party was doomed to electoral defeat if the tax remained and that there was no prospect of its abandonment while Mrs Thatcher remained leader. This resulted in the success of a leadership challenge by Michael Heseltine in demonstrating the untenability of her position (although in the actual vote of MPs Thatcher prevailed by a margin of 50 votes out of 370). On November 22, 1990 Mrs Thatcher resigned and all three contenders to succeed her pledged to abandon the tax. Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, PC (born March 21, 1933), is a British Conservative politician and businessman. ... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The successful candidate, John Major, appointed his defeated rival Michael Heseltine to the post of Environment Secretary responsible for replacing the Community Charge. In 1991 the Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont announced a raise in Value Added Tax from 15% to 17.5% to pay for giving everybody a £140 reduction in their bills. By the time of the 1992 General Election, legislation had been passed replacing Community Charge with the Council Tax from the start of the 1993/94 financial year. The Right Honourable John Major, CH (born 29 March 1943) was a senior British politician who served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher as Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer, before succeeding Thatcher as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Right Honourable Gordon Brown, PC, MP, current Chancellor of the Exchequer The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the ancient title held by the British cabinet minister whose responsibilities are akin to the posts of Minister for Finance or Secretary of the Treasury in other jurisdictions. ... Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, PC, was Conservative MP for Kingston upon Thames from 1972 until 1997. ... Value added tax (VAT) is a sales tax levied on the sale of goods and services. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Council Tax is the main form of local taxation in England, Scotland and Wales. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003) Events Media:January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

The Council Tax strongly resembled the rating system that the Poll Tax had replaced. The main differences were that it was levied on capital value rather than notional rental value of a property, and that a 25% discount for single occupancy dwellings was introduced. The Council Tax is the main form of local taxation in England, Scotland and Wales. ...

External links

• Pictures by Paul Ross who witnessed the riot (http://www.caliach.com/paulr/news/polltax/index.html).
• The Battle that brought down Thatcher (http://www.militant.org.uk/PollTax.html) - a far-left perspective by the Trotskyite Militant Tendency.