Well folks, I suppose because I'm English I'll try to help. Here is what I know and understand about Poll Taxes The English Oxford Dictionary gives a number of definitions for "poll" , one of which is "the head of man or beast." It then goes on to give further connected definitions ("part of the head on which hair grows" and "the figure or representation of a head") So far so good It then goes on to give the definition "As the prominent or visible part in a crowd, a person or individual in a number or list (ie head) giving rise to phrases such as "by (the) poll", by counting of heads; "poll by poll", one by one; "per poll", for each person. This counting of heads then takes us to the counting of voters; the entering of votes, in order to their being counted: esp. at the election of parliamentary or other representatives. In England we go to vote at "The Polling Station" and the result of an election can be called the poll, meaning the numerical result of the voting. An "opinion poll" is a count taken to estimate public opinion on a specified issue by questioning a sample intended to be representative of the whole people The dictionary defines poll-tax as a tax levied on every person; a capitation or head-tax Hope that helps. By the way, Mrs Thatcher won the election in 1987 by promising to being in a tax that looked very much like a poll-tax but called it a "community charge". In the event there was so much dislike of the tax that it was the direct cause of her being removed from power so we no longer have a poll-tax ----- Rick Edmondson rick@hunter.co.uk tel: 01959 532575 fax: 01959 532832