Poll tax

Quick Facts: Who was Poll tax?

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Poll tax

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A fixed tax levied on every liable individual, regardless of income or resources.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Poll is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sense of "counting heads" is found in phrases like polling place and opinion poll. Poll taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments from ancient times until the 19th century. In England, poll taxes were levied by the government of John of Gaunt in the 14th century and Charles II in the 17th century.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

In the United Kingdom a poll tax was levied by the government of Margaret Thatcher in the 20th century. In the United States, voting poll taxes (whose payment was a precondition to voting in an election) have been used to disenfranchise impoverished and minority voters (especially after Reconstruction). Poll taxes are regressive with respect to income, meaning the higher someone's income is, the lower the tax is as a proportion of income: for example, a $500 tax on an income of $10,000 is a 5% tax rate, while $500 tax on a $1,000,000 income is 0.05%. Its acceptance or "neutrality" depends on the balance between the tax demanded and the resources of the population. Low amounts generally go unnoticed, while high amounts may generate tax revolts such as the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England and the 1906 Bambatha Rebellion against colonial rule in South Africa.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

However, both of those cases were additional taxation, and not a substitute for other taxes being lowered. As prescribed in Exodus, Jewish law imposed a poll tax of a half-shekel, payable by every man above the age of twenty. 11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. 13This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. 14Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1381: 1381 Milestone — Low amounts generally go unnoticed, while high amounts may generate tax revolts such as the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England and the 1906 Bambatha Rebellion against colonial rule in South Africa.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Poll tax

True or False: “The poll tax was always a direct substitute for lowering other forms of taxation during periods of revolt.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): Historical examples show that when revolts occurred, the poll tax was often additional taxation layered on top of existing burdens.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Erik of Pomerania — Historical peer (Born in 1381) (1381): King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, ruling over the Kalmar Union.
• John Ball (priest) — Historical peer (Died in 1381) (1381): English priest central to the Peasants' Revolt, known for radical sermons on social equality.
• A. J. P. Taylor — Historical peer (Born in 1906) (1906): Influential English historian specializing in 19th and 20th-century European diplomacy.
• Abdus Sattar (president) — Historical peer (Born in 1906) (1906): Bangladeshi statesman who served as President of Bangladesh (1981-1982).

Frequently Asked Questions about Poll tax