Editing Poll tax (section)

==Great Britain==
The poll tax was essentially a lay subsidy, a tax on the [[movable property]] of most of the population, to help fund war. It had first been levied in 1275 and continued under different names until the 17th century. People were taxed a [[percentage]] of the assessed value of their movable goods. That percentage varied from year to year and place to place, and which goods could be taxed differed between [[urban area|urban]] and [[rural]] locations. [[Clergy|Churchmen]] were exempt, as were the poor, workers in the [[Royal Mint]], inhabitants of the [[Cinque Ports]], [[tin]] workers in [[Cornwall]] and [[Devon]], and those who lived in the [[County palatine|Palatinate counties]] of [[Cheshire]] and [[County Durham|Durham]].

===14th century===
{{Main|Poll Tax of 1379}}
The Hilary Parliament, held between January and March 1377, levied a poll tax in 1377 to finance the [[Hundred Years War|war against France]] at the request of [[John of Gaunt]] who, since [[King Edward III]] was mortally sick, was the de facto head of government at the time. This tax covered almost 60% of the population, far more than lay subsidies had earlier. It was levied two more times, in [[Poll Tax of 1379|1379]] and 1381. Each time the taxation basis was slightly different. In 1377, every lay person over the age of 14 years who was not a beggar had to pay a [[groat (coin)|groat]] (4d) to the Crown. By 1379 that had been graded by social class, with the lower age limit changed to 16, and to 15 two years later. The levy of 1381 operated under a combination of both flat rate and graduated assessments. The minimum amount payable was set at 4d, however tax collectors had to account for a 12d a head mean assessment. Payments were therefore variable; the poorest would theoretically pay the lowest rate, with the deficit being met by a higher payment from those able to afford it.<ref>See {{cite thesis |first=Carolyn Christine |last=Fenwick |title=The English Poll Taxes of 1377, 1379 and 1381: A Critical Examination of the Returns |publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |type=PhD thesis |year=1983 |url=https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.263359 |access-date=16 August 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204072031/https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.263359 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 1381 tax has been credited as one of the main reasons behind the [[Peasants Revolt|Peasants' Revolt]] in that year, due in part to attempts to restore feudal conditions in rural areas.

===17th century{{anchor|Poll Tax Act 1660}}===
The poll tax was resurrected during the 17th century, usually related to a military emergency. It was imposed by [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] in 1641 to finance the raising of the army against the Scottish and Irish uprisings. With the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]] of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1660, the [[Convention Parliament (1660)|Convention Parliament of 1660]] instituted a poll tax to finance the disbanding of the [[New Model Army]] (pay arrears, etc.) ([[12 Cha. 2]]. c. 9).<ref>''Statutes of the Realm'', vol. v, p.207-225</ref> The poll tax was assessed according to "rank", e.g. dukes paid £100, earls £60, knights £20, esquires £10. Eldest sons paid two-thirds of their father's rank, widows paid a third of their late husband's rank. The members of the [[livery companies]] paid according to company's rank (e.g. masters of first-tier guilds like the Mercers paid £10, whereas masters of fifth-tier guilds, like the Clerks, paid 5 shillings). Professionals also paid differing rates, e.g. physicians (£10), judges (£20), advocates (£5), attorneys (£3), and so on. Anyone with property (land, etc.) paid 40 shillings per £100 earned, anyone over the age of 16 and unmarried paid twelvepence and everyone else over 16 paid sixpence.

{{anchor|Poll Tax Act 1688|Poll Tax Act 1689|Poll Tax Act 1691|Poll Tax Act 1694|Poll Tax Act 1697}}
To finance the [[Nine Years' War]], a poll tax was imposed again by [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary II]] in 1689 ([[1 Will. & Mar.]] c. 13), reassessed in 1690 adjusting rank for fortune ([[2 Will. & Mar.]] c. 2), and then again in 1691 back to rank irrespective of fortune ([[3 Will. & Mar.]] c. 6). The poll tax was imposed again in 1692 ([[5 & 6 Will. & Mar.]] c. 14), and one final time in 1698 ([[9 Will. 3]]. c. 38), the last poll tax in England until the 20th century.

A poll tax ("polemoney") was simultaneously imposed in [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] by the [[Parliament of Scotland|Edinburgh parliament]] in 1693, again in 1695, and two in 1698.

As the greater weight of the 17th century poll taxes fell primarily upon the wealthy and powerful, it was not too unpopular. There were grumblings within the taxed ranks about lack of differentiation by income within ranks. Ultimately, it was the inefficiency of their collection (what they brought in routinely fell far short of expected revenues) that prompted the government to abandon the poll tax after 1698.

Far more controversial was the [[hearth tax]] introduced by the [[Fire-Hearth and Stoves Taxation Act 1662]] ([[14 Cha. 2]]. c. 10), which imposed a hefty two shillings on every hearth in a family dwelling, which was easier to count than persons. Heavier, more permanent and more regressive than the poll tax proper, the intrusive entry of tax inspectors into private homes to count hearths was a very sore point, and it was promptly repealed with the [[Glorious Revolution]] in 1689. It was replaced with a "window tax" in 1695 since inspectors could count windows from outside homes.

===20th century===
{{Main|Poll tax (Great Britain)}}
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{{more citations needed section|date=June 2019}}
The Community Charge, popularly dubbed the "poll tax", was a tax to fund [[local government in the United Kingdom|local government]], instituted in 1989 by the government of [[Margaret Thatcher]]. It replaced the [[rates (tax)|rates]] that were based on the notional rental value of a house. The abolition of rates was in the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] manifesto for the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]]; the replacement was proposed in the Green Paper of 1986, ''Paying for Local Government'' based on ideas developed by Dr. [[Madsen Pirie]] and [[Douglas Mason]] of the [[Adam Smith Institute]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pearce |first1=Ed |title=The prophet of private profit |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1993/apr/19/thinktanks.uk |work=The Guardian |date=19 April 1993}}</ref> It was a [[fixed tax]] per adult resident, but there was a reduction for those with lower household income. Each person was to pay for the services provided in their community. This proposal was contained in the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] [[manifesto]] for the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 general election]]. The new tax replaced the rates in Scotland from the start of the 1988/89 financial year and in England and Wales from the start of the 1990/91 financial year.<ref name="TelegraphTimeline">{{cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Nick |title=Local government funding timeline: From rates to poll tax to council tax |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8370222/Local-government-funding-timeline-From-rates-to-poll-tax-to-council-tax.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8370222/Local-government-funding-timeline-From-rates-to-poll-tax-to-council-tax.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph|date=9 March 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The system was very unpopular since many thought it shifted the tax burden from the rich to the poor, as it was based on the number of occupants living in a house, rather than on the estimated market value of the house. Many tax rates set by local councils proved to be much higher than earlier predictions since the councils realized that not they, but the central government would be blamed for the tax, which led to resentment, even among some who had supported the introduction of it.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Peter |title=Lessons From the British Poll Tax Disaster |journal=National Tax Journal |date=December 1991 |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=421–436 |doi=10.1086/NTJ41788932 |s2cid=42053969 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d151/79e8204f875cfffcef9987f12326e85f2446.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014184039/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d151/79e8204f875cfffcef9987f12326e85f2446.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2019-10-14 |accessdate=14 October 2019 }}</ref> The tax in different boroughs differed because local taxes paid by businesses varied and grants by central government to local authorities sometimes varied capriciously.

Mass protests were called by the [[All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation]] with which the vast majority of local [[Anti-Poll Tax Unions]] (APTUs) were affiliated. In Scotland, the APTUs called for mass nonpayment, which rapidly gathered widespread support and spread as far as [[England and Wales]] even though non-payment meant that people could be prosecuted. In some areas, 30% of former ratepayers defaulted. While [[owner-occupier]]s were easy to tax, nonpayers who regularly changed accommodation were almost impossible to trace. The cost of collecting the tax rose steeply, and its returns fell. Unrest grew and resulted in a number of [[poll tax riots]]. The most serious was in a protest at [[Trafalgar Square]], London, on 31 March 1990, of more than 200,000 protesters. [[Terry Fields]], Labour MP for [[Liverpool Broadgreen (UK Parliament constituency)|Liverpool Broadgreen]], was jailed for 60 days for his refusal to pay the poll tax.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chaplain |first1=Chloe |title=The biggest protests in recent history... and the impact they had |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/brexit/peoples-vote-march-poll-tax-political-protest-impact-list-505974 |work=inews.co.uk |date=22 October 2018 |language=en |access-date=14 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014184036/https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/brexit/peoples-vote-march-poll-tax-political-protest-impact-list-505974 |archive-date=14 October 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wheal|first1=Chris |title=Poll tax is history |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/1999/apr/14/guardiansocietysupplement4 |work=The Guardian |date=14 April 1999}}</ref>

This unrest was a factor in the fall of Thatcher. Her successor, [[John Major]], replaced the Community Charge with the [[Council Tax]], similar to the rating system that preceded the Community Charge.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Higham |first1=Nick |title=Thatcher's Community Charge miscalculation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38382416 |work=BBC News |date=30 December 2016}}</ref> The main differences were that it was levied on capital value rather than notional rental value of a property, and that it had a 25% discount for single-occupancy dwellings.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Waterhouse |first1=Rosie |title=Uproar predicted over council tax |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/uproar-predicted-over-council-tax-1551107.html |work=The Independent |date=13 September 1992 |language=en |access-date=14 October 2019 |archive-date=14 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014184035/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/uproar-predicted-over-council-tax-1551107.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2015, [[William Arthur Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill|Lord Waldegrave]] reflected in his memoirs that the Community Charge was all his own work and that it was a serious mistake. Although he felt the policy looked like it would work, it was implemented differently from his predictions "They went gung-ho and introduced it overnight in one go, which was never my plan and I thought they must know what they were doing – but they didn't."<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-33594395 | title=Poll tax a mistake, says Waldegrave| work=BBC News| date=20 July 2015}}</ref>