Under the old and flawed system of domestic rates, local taxes were levied on the value of your house. So an old-aged pensioner alone in a big house could end up paying more than a houseful of people who used more services and were possibly better able to pay. And so the Conservative government replaced it with the “Community Charge”. It was a flagship policy of Margaret Thatcher's government.
Opposition grew quickly – and even members of Thatcher's own party weren't keen. The main objections were the fact that the same amount was paid by everyone, regardless of their ability to pay, and that liability was determined by being on the electoral roll. Thus it was dubbed the “Poll Tax”. But Mrs T was famously stubborn, and refused to reconsider.
The Militant Tendency – a particularly humourless Trotskyist element of the Labour Party of the time – set up the All-Britain Anti-Poll Tax League, and began organising a mass demonstration to be held on Saturday 31 March 1990. 70,000 people assembled in Kennington Park and marched on central London. Later in the afternoon, a group staged a sit in in Whitehall, dangerously close to Downing Street, and it was then that the trouble started. Police moved in to break them up, and things rapidly got out of hand.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
The trouble, centred on Trafalgar Square, spread to the surrounding area. In some of the worst rioting the country had seen for years, cars were attacked, windows smashed and shops looted. 400 people were arrested.
The unpopularity of the tax contributed to Thatcher's downfall. When the tax was introduced in England (it had been trialled a year before in Scotland), 17 million refused to pay. In opinion polls, 78% were opposed to the tax. Thatcher resigned in November that year and the tax was abolished in 1993 – some £2bn in arrears.
-
City watchdog warning: wealthy savers hold too much cashDamning FCA reports finds wealthy savers are holding £10,000 or more in cash, but should invest instead or risk stagnated returns.
-
Inheritance tax could be due on the average property in just 10 yearsRising house prices and frozen tax thresholds could mean inheritance tax is payable on the average home from 2035
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar SquareFeatures On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is createdFeatures On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formedFeatures On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
