poll tax (Community Charge)
E16697
The poll tax, officially called the Community Charge, was a highly controversial flat-rate local taxation system introduced in the UK in the late 1980s that sparked widespread protests and contributed to Margaret Thatcher’s political downfall.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
flat-rate tax
ⓘ
local tax ⓘ system of taxation ⓘ |
| abolishedBy |
John Major
ⓘ
surface form:
John Major government
|
| abolishedIn | 1993 ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | poll tax ⓘ |
| appliedInJurisdiction |
England
ⓘ
Great Britain ⓘ Scotland ⓘ Wales ⓘ |
| associatedWithEvent | Poll Tax Riots ⓘ |
| collectionMethod | local authorities billing individuals ⓘ |
| contributedTo | political downfall of Margaret Thatcher ⓘ |
| controversialFor |
administrative complexity
ⓘ
perceived unfairness to low-income people ⓘ regressive impact ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| criticizedAs | unfair compared to property-based taxes ⓘ |
| endDate | 1993 ⓘ |
| exemptedGroup |
certain low-income individuals
ⓘ
students (partially or fully in some cases) ⓘ |
| field |
public finance
ⓘ
tax policy ⓘ |
| historicalComparison | earlier poll taxes in British history ⓘ |
| introducedByGovernmentOf | Margaret Thatcher ⓘ |
| introducedUnderPrimeMinister | Margaret Thatcher ⓘ |
| legalInstrumentType | Act of Parliament ⓘ |
| legislatedBy |
British Parliament
ⓘ
surface form:
Parliament of the United Kingdom
|
| majorProtestDate | 31 March 1990 ⓘ |
| majorProtestLocation |
Trafalgar Square
ⓘ
surface form:
Trafalgar Square, London
|
| notableFor | widespread non-payment campaigns ⓘ |
| officialName | Community Charge ⓘ |
| opposedBy |
Labour Party (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Labour Party
anti-poll tax unions ⓘ local government associations ⓘ trade unions ⓘ |
| policyGoal |
broaden local tax base
ⓘ
increase accountability of local government to individual taxpayers ⓘ |
| purpose | funding local government services ⓘ |
| reformOf | local government finance ⓘ |
| replaced | domestic rates system ⓘ |
| replacedBy | Council Tax ⓘ |
| sparked | mass protests in the United Kingdom ⓘ |
| startDate | 1989 ⓘ |
| startDateInEnglandAndWales | 1990 ⓘ |
| startDateInScotland | 1989 ⓘ |
| supportedBy |
Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)
ⓘ
surface form:
Conservative Party leadership
|
| taxBase |
individual adult residents
ⓘ
per capita charge ⓘ |
| taxRateType | flat rate ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.