CAP VERB AND NOUN (POLITICS)

transitive verb: To impose a limit on (something); specifically, of central government: to regulate the spending of (a local authority) by imposing an upper limit on local taxation. noun: An upper limit or 'ceiling', especially one imposed by central government on a local authority's spending. Etymology: This sense arises from the image of placing a cap or capping on the top of something (a general sense of the verb which has existed since the seventeenth century), and may be related more specifically to the capping of oil wells as a way of controlling pressure. As such, it is almost opposite in meaning to the colloquial sense of the verb, 'to exceed or excel, to outdo'. History and Usage: This type of capping became topical in the mid eighties with the UK government's capping of local authority spending (first in the form of rate-capping, and in 1990 as charge-capping or poll-capping). Councils on which this was imposed, or the taxes they could levy, were described as capped (rate-capped, charge-capped, etc.). The major cost would come in lost interest on cash flow because most people would delay paying until the lower, charge-capped, demand arrived. Independent 20 Mar. 1990, p. 8 The Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed the second stage of the legal campaign by 19 Labour local authorities against the Government's decision to cap their poll tax levels and order cuts in their budgets. Guardian 28 June 1990, p. 2 A council once famous for getting disadvantaged people into further education has abolished all discretionary maintenance grants because it has been charge-capped. Times Educational Supplement 7 Sept. 1990, p. 6