poll tax

From sense poll (“head”) for “uniform tax per individual”; from sense poll (“voting place”) for “tax required to vote”.

poll tax (plural poll taxes)

1. A tax determined as a uniform, fixed amount per individual.
2. (US) A tax that must be paid in order to vote.

• In the US, generally used today to refer to taxes that must be paid in order to vote, with high risk of confusion if used for “head tax”. Further, the term has strong negative connotations, due to these taxes discriminating against blacks – see Jim Crow laws.
• In the UK, the term was used for the tax levied in England which lead to the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. It was then applied to the Community Charge, a tax for local government services that was abolished in 1993.

• poll-tax

(uniform tax per person):

• capitation
• head money
• head tax