poll tax

/ˌpoʊl ˈtæks/

Other forms: poll taxes

A poll tax is money that every adult citizen pays, no matter their income or specific situation. Before the middle of the twentieth century, some states required people to pay poll taxes in order to vote.

Before the nineteenth century, poll taxes were the main source of income for many governments around the world. They have become very unpopular over time; they're considered to be unfair because they present a hardship for very poor people. In the U.S., poll taxes were used as a way to keep Black and impoverished people from voting after the American Civil War. Poll has a root meaning "head," and a poll tax was essentially "one tax per head."

Definitions of poll tax

1. noun

   a tax of a fixed amount per person and payable as a requirement for the right to vote
   type of:

   capitation

   a tax levied on the basis of a fixed amount per person