Community ransom

The community ransom, or Yishuv ransom was a tax imposed by the Jewish [National Council] in Mandatory Palestine to finance central security operations and increase the size of the self-defence force known as the Haganah. The principle of the tax was that those who could not make a physical contribution to the Haganah would pay a "ransom" to its treasury. The money was collected through a tax on luxuries, cigarettes, restaurant bills and so on.
The tax was formally introduced on 24 June 1938, during the 1936–39 [Arab revolt in Palestine], and abolished on the foundation of the state of Israel in May 1948.