Catalogue Number
NMLH.1992.129.1
Object Name
Collection Box
Title
'Avon Anti-Poll Tax Federation'
Place
Bristol & Avon, UK
People
Avon Anti-Poll Tax Federation, Avon Federation of Anti Poll Tax Unions, Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Party
Events
Poll Tax protests
Description
A white collecting tin with yellow stripes and black writing which says 'Avon Anti-Poll Tax Federation' on one side and 'Avon Federation of Anti Poll Tax Unions' on the other.
This tin was used by campaigners from the Avon Anti-Poll Tax Federation to raise money for their campaign against the Poll Tax, which was also known as the Community Charge. The Community Charge, introduced by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government in Scotland in 1989, and England and Wales in 1990, replaced the system of domestic rates where each household paid a bill for local government services which was based on the value of their property. Under the Community Charge, instead, every adult in a local area paid the same fixed amount.
Opposition to the Community Charge was widespread. Under the rates system, rich people living in expensive houses paid more, whereas the Community Charge was the same amount for everyone regardless of their wealth, so it was viewed as shifting taxes from rich people to poor people. Hundreds of local Anti-Poll Tax Unions developed encouraging people not to pay the tax, and riots broke out across Britain, the largest of which was in London on 31 March 1990, a week before the tax was due to be introduced in England. The unpopularity of the tax led to a leadership challenge which ultimately saw Margaret Thatcher resign as Prime Minister. Her successor, John Major, brought in legislation to replace the Poll Tax with Council Tax in 1992, which is based on property value, like rates had been.
**ON DISPLAY**
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