Community charge
The Community Charge commonly known as the Poll Tax was introduced in the Spring of 1990 into the United Kingdom during Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Conservative Party Prime Minister. It sought to overturn and replace the much-criticised domestic rating system (a form of taxation for local government authorities) which was based upon the value of a property. This system led to great iniquities. A house (whatever its value) may contain one person and the same kind of house next door or nearby could contain any number of people/adults. This meant that the councils were providing a vast range of services to the community, including social care, roads, and rubbish collections and disposals, the burden of which fell upon the home-owner himself and all others were effectively benefiting tax-free. The Community Charge was to ensure that all residents paid their fair share, not based upon the arbitrary value of a property (which had no relevance). A condition of this new tax was that all adults over the age of 18 had to be registered in the electoral rolls. This resulted in the Far-Left describing it as the Poll Tax, a nickname which prevailed. Anyone refusing to pay this tax risked being sent to gaol.
Despite provisions being made for the unemployed and those still in education, the legislation was rushed through Parliament without further research and fine-tuning. The Community Charge resulted in huge campaigns against it across the country, almost all organised by socialists and the Far-Left (includes the Labour Party). A large anti-Poll Tax march and demonstration in Trafalgar Square in the heart of London turned into a serious riot with cars and buildings burning which the Metropolitan Police had great difficulty controlling. Everything was filmed by the media and went viral around the world. This riot was considered by many as a turning point for Margaret Thatcher's premiership and she resigned on 29 November 1990.
