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# Poll Tax

## Definition

A fixed tax levied on individuals rather than on property or transactions, typically paid annually as a form of revenue collection. In medieval economic systems, poll taxes were often used as compensation for granting exemptions from other forms of taxation, particularly in the relationship between towns and their royal or noble protectors.

## Source Chapter

Book III, Chapter 3

## Context

Smith describes how poll taxes functioned as part of the economic arrangements between towns and their protectors. He explains that towns paid these taxes in exchange for exemptions from other forms of taxation and feudal obligations, creating a system where urban dwellers could develop more autonomous economic activities while providing predictable revenue streams to their protectors.

## Economic Domain

Regulation

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