United States
A poll tax (in the sense of capitation) plays a significant role in the history of taxation in the United States and the adoption of income tax as a significant source of government funding. The second meaning of poll tax, namely a tax to be paid as a prerequisite to voting, is more widely known in the United States today. The term was widely used in the South at the turn of the 20th century in combination with other measures as a means of disfranchisement to bar poor people, especially blacks, from voter registration and voting.
Recent debate has arisen about whether requiring citizens to purchase a state identification card acts as a poll tax and bars poor voters from voting. To reduce cost, some states offer free identification cards for those who can demonstrate the need. However, significant additional costs can be incurred by individuals to acquire a "free" ID, as they need to provide other proof of identity. In addition to travel costs or potential lost wages, a certified copy of a birth certificate costs from $10 to $45 depending on the state, a passport costs $85, and certified naturalization papers cost $19.95. About 12 percent of voting-age Americans lack a driver's license and would need such state identification cards.
Read more about this topic: Tax Per Head
Famous quotes related to united states:
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—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)
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—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1954)
“What lies behind facts like these: that so recently one could not have said Scott was not perfect without earning at least sorrowful disapproval; that a year after the Gang of Four were perfect, they were villains; that in the fifties in the United States a nothing-man called McCarthy was able to intimidate and terrorise sane and sensible people, but that in the sixties young people summoned before similar committees simply laughed.”
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—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“I hate to do what everybody else is doing. Why, only last week, on Fifth Avenue and some cross streets, I noticed that every feminine citizen of these United States wore an artificial posy on her coat or gown. I came home and ripped off every one of the really lovely refrigerator blossoms that were sewn on my own bodices.”
—Carolyn Wells (1862–1942)