History of UK Stamp Duties
Stamp duty was first introduced in England in 1694, during the reign of William and Mary under "An act for granting to Their Majesties several duties on Vellum, Parchment and Paper for 4 years, towards carrying on the war against France". Similar duties had been levied in the Netherlands. Stamp duty was so successful that it continues to this day through a series of Stamp Acts.
During the 18th and early 19th centuries, stamp duties were extended to cover newspapers, pamphlets, lottery tickets, apprentices' indentures, advertisements, playing cards, dice, hats, gloves, patent medicines, perfumes, insurance policies, gold and silver plate, hair powder and armorial bearings.
The attempted enforcement of the Stamp Act 1765 in the English colonies in America led to the outcry of no taxation without representation. The argument over stamp duty was a contributing factor to the outbreak of the American War of Independence.
Until 1793 stamp duty was always imposed as a fixed amount regardless of the size of the transaction. In 1808 stamp duty on conveyances of sale, including transfers of land and shares, became an ad valorem tax.
Historically, stamp taxes were administered by the Board of Stamps. This merged with the Board of Taxes in 1833/1834, and the Board of Inland Revenue was created under the Inland Revenue Board Act 1849 by merger of the Board of Excise and Board of Stamps and Taxes. Stamp taxes were then administered by the Inland Revenue Stamp Taxes business stream (formerly the Stamp Office). Another merger occurred in 2004, with the Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise to form HM Revenue & Customs which now itself manages stamp duty.
The Stamp Duties Management Act 1891 and the Stamp Act 1891 still contain much of the operative law on stamp duties, although there have been significant amendments subsequently and a partial consolidation was made in Finance Act 1999. The Stamp Act 1891 was the inspiration for many of the older Australian stamp duty Acts.
Read more about this topic: Stamp Duty In The United Kingdom
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