Not exactly garden huts, but back in Colonial times, the government of the day would tax members of local tribes based on how many dwellings they owned. A bit like property rates today. A clear case of taxation without representation which usually caused unhappiness among the taxed. Sometimes this unhappiness took a violent form as with the Bambata Rebellion in Natal in 1906.
I've never seen this particular metal tag before, so probably not South African , but Colonial Africa was a big place and governments have always searched for new and inventive ways to extract money .
Regards
Mike
|