World Notes TAXATION

In 1381, King Richard II's effort to impose a per capita levy helped touch off the Peasants' Revolt. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's version of the head tax may not inspire an uprising, but it certainly has angered a lot of Britons. Last week Parliament received Thatcher's plan, which would abolish property taxes on 18 million homeowners in England and Wales by 1994 and instead impose a fee ranging from $500 to $1,200 per person on 33 million adults. Thatcher seeks to raise some $12 billion in revenue for local governments, which currently receive most of their money from taxes on property owners, a solid bastion of support for Thatcher's Conservatives. Opponents of the scheme, including some Tory M.P.s, charge that the new levy would fall most heavily on low-income families.