Stamp Act
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A stamp act is a law enacted by a government that requires a tax to be paid on the transfer of certain documents such as property deeds. Those that pay the tax receive an official stamp on their documents. The tax raised, called stamp duty, was first devised in the Netherlands in 1624 after a public competition to find a new form of tax. A variety of products have been covered by stamp acts including playing cards, patent medicines, cheques, mortgages, contracts and newspapers. The items often have to be physically stamped at approved government offices following payment of the duty although methods involving annual payment of a fixed sum or purchase of adhesive stamps are more practical and common.
Stamp acts were enforced in many countries including Australia, People's Republic of China, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
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[edit] Stamp acts in Britain and America
[edit] England's Stamp Acts
[edit] 1689 Stamp Act
A Stamp Duty was first introduced in England in 1694 following the Dutch model as An act for granting to Their Majesties several duties on Vellum, Parchment and Paper for 4 years, towards carrying on the war against France. The duty ranged between 1 penny to several shillings on a number of different legal documents including insurance policies, documents used as evidence in courts, grants of honour, grants of probate and letters of administration. It raised around £50,000 a year and although it was initially a temporary measure, it proved so successful that its use was continued.
[edit] 1712 Stamp Act
The tax was extended to cover newspapers causing protests from publishers and writers including Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe. It stipulated a penny duty on each full printed page and a shilling on advertisements. At the time, Britain enjoyed a free press with satirical and seditious publications becoming more and more widely read. As well as raising money the act was an attempt to limit the readership of such publications without invoking explicit censorship.
[edit] 1724 Stamp Act
In 1724 the Act was renewed, although vigorously resisted, its tax on publications was eventually enforced. In 1743 selling unstamped newspapers was made a criminal offence.
[edit] 1764 Stamp Act
Main article: Stamp Act 1765
In 1765 the British Parliament passed a Stamp Act affecting its American Colonies. It placed a tax on legal documents, such as contracts, licenses, wills, newspapers, playing cards, domestic items, and dice. Colonial leaders protested the tax claiming that it intended to regulate behavior entirely within the colonies. They also argued that the goal of the tax was explicitly to raise revenue and was an unjust burden placed on the colonies. Items also taxed included cloth, wine, and a three cent tax on molasses. Rum and French wine could not be transported into the colonies.
[edit] Post-American Revolution Stamp Acts
[edit] 1777 Stamp Act
Introduced by William Pitt the Younger who described Stamp Duty as a tax easily raised, pressing little on any particular class, especially the lower orders of society, and producing a revenue safely and expeditiously collected at small expense. He pointed out that there had been no significant increases in Stamp Duty for some time and so practically dou
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[edit] 1855 Stamp Act
The tax on newspapers was finally abolished following pressure from the publishers' lobbying group, the Newspaper Stamp Abolition Committee led by Henry Hetherington.
[edit] 1891 Stamp Act and Stamp Duties Management Act
All the above Acts were superseded by the Stamp Duties Management Act 1891 and the Stamp Act 1891 which still constitute the bulk of UK law on Stamp Duties today.
[edit] The modern UK Stamp Act
In 1914 The Director of Stamping at the Stamp Office oversaw the production of the first Treasury Notes (later called banknotes, not to be confused with US Treasury notes). This lasted until 1928 when production of banknotes passed from the Department to the Bank of England. In 1963 production of postage stamps passed to the Post Office.
The Finance Act 1986 introduced Stamp Duty Reserve Tax. From 27 October 1986 the charge was imposed on 'closing' transactions at the London Stock Exchange which until then had been transactions where no document was used and therefore exempt from Stamp Duty.
A public display of Stamp Office artifacts and records was held at the Courtauld Institute in 1994 to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of the introduction of UK Stamp Duty. The Stamp Office was also awarded the Charter Mark by John Major's Advisory Committee as a reward for its public service.
Stamp duties are the oldest taxes still raised by the Inland Revenue.
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