Mass taxation and state society relations`

who wrote mass taxation and state society relations in East Africa

OH Fjeldstad and O Therkildsen

what is a poll tax

a tax levied on all adult males regardless of income

what impact does the rise of political competition have on the poll tax

more competition means you have to have attractive policies, and scrapping the poll tax was one of the most attractive policies

when did the british introduce poll tax in Africa

19th century and early 20th century

what did the colonial administration use the poll tax for

forcing subsistence farmers to diversify, to fund british wars, and to fund the costs of colonial development and administration

what were seen as pros of the poll tax

simple, and created income for the government

what were the cons of poll tax

unfair, led to unrest and resentment

what was the punishment for those who did not pay poll tax

originally forced labour on colonial projects and later, imprisonment

what are the two case studies

uganda and tanzania

what party ruled tanzania post independence

tanganyika african national union

who was president of tanzania post independence

Julius Nyere

when were graduated rates of poll tax introduced in tanzania

1960s

when was polltax first abolished in tanzania

1969

when was poll tax reintroduced in tanzania

1984

when was the poll tax finally abolished in Tanzania

2003

why do Therkisen and Fjeldstad argue the poll tax was abolished in 2003

because of upcoming elections in 2005 making it a political issue

when did uganda gain indepdence

1962

what characterises uganda in contrast to tanzania

Uganda is characterized by political instability and conflict compared to Tanzania's relative stability and unity.

when was poll tax introduced to uganda

1905 (but only for Africans)

when was the poll tax introduced for non africans

1919

what percent of locally collected revenues did the poll tax offer in 1961

90%

What percent of locally collected revenues did the poll tax create in 2003

40-50%

when was the poll tax abolished in uganda

2005

Why was poll tax not abolished in uganda sooner

political instability, not many people paying income tax