Why was there poll tax?

Poll taxes were implemented as a means of generating revenue for governments, particularly in the United States during the post-Civil War era. They were often used to restrict voting rights, disproportionately impacting poor and minority populations who could not afford to pay the tax. This practice was part of broader efforts to enforce racial segregation and disenfranchise African Americans in the South. Poll taxes were eventually declared unconstitutional in the U.S. with the 24th Amendment in 1964 and later by the Supreme Court in 1966.