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# Capitation Tax

## Definition

A tax levied on individuals regardless of their wealth or income, typically
assessed according to rank or supposed fortune, which tends to be arbitrary
and unequal in its burden on different social classes.

## Source Chapter

Book V, Chapter 2

## Context

Smith criticizes capitation taxes as being either arbitrary when proportioned
to fortune or unequal when proportioned to rank, and discusses how such taxes
have been implemented in various countries with different degrees of severity.

## Economic Domain

General Theory

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