The Jewish poll tax () was a

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

imposed on

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. It was later absorbed into the ''

hiberna Hiberna in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also known as "chleb zimowy" (winter bread), was an obligation to guarantee accommodation for troops during winter time. It was an obligation of ''Królewszczyzna'' ( crown lands) and church estates ...

'' tax.''Scepter of Judah: The Jewish Autonomy in the Eighteenth-Century Crown Poland''
pp. 15-16
/ref>The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture, p. 118
browse for "skhumot" online
The Jews were exempt from other state and municipal taxes, which often caused protests from Polish city dwellers. Initially the collection of the tax was a duty of Jewish Councils (

Council of Four Lands The Council of Four Lands (, ''Va'ad Arba' Aratzot'', ) was the central body of Jewish authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the second half of the 16th century to 1764, located in Lublin. The Council's first law is recorded as h ...

, Council of the Land of Lithuania). Sometimes it was paid to the royal treasury, other times it was paid directly to the military units funded from this tax. The Jewish councils divide the tax into smaller internal divisions called "portions" (Hebrew: ''skhumot'', Polish: ''sympla''). The sum of the portions was always larger than the state-imposed amount, and the council used the surplus for the needs of Jewish community and the council apparatus. This practice was common for non-Jewish taxes as well, and the Crown was aware of it. By early 17th century, the duty of Jewish poll tax was transferred to ''

sejmik A sejmik (, diminutive of ''sejm'', occasionally translated as a ''dietine''; ) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of Poland (before ...

s'', and it was later transferred to the Polish military; by mid-17th century, it was absorbed into the ''hiberna''.

References

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Legal history of Poland Abolished taxes Taxation of foreigners Poll taxes History of taxation Jewish Polish history Jewish Lithuanian history Religious taxation {{Tax-stub

See also

References