Stamp duty, introduced in Europe in the 17th century, has long been a means for governments of all persuasions to raise funds from a generally unwilling public. The English monarchy introduced stamp duty in 1694 to help fund the war with France, while the attempted introduction of stamp duty in the British colonies in America led to the outcry of "no taxation without representation" and sparked the outbreak of the American War of Independence.
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During the 19th century, the Australian colonies saw the benefits of charging stamp duty, with Tasmania imposing broadly based stamp duty in 1863 with New South Wales and Queensland following in 1865 and 1866 respectively. In Queensland, while introducing the Stamp Duties Bill in the Legislative Assembly on September 21, 1866, the Queensland treasurer commented that "it is a magnificent way of extracting money" and "there is no means of avoiding a tax under this bill and it will be impossible to carry on business without coming under the operation of this beautiful invention. The only thing I have forgotten to tax are babies".
By Federation, all the Australian colonies collected stamp duty and the states continued to do so after Federation while the Northern Territory started from 1917.
However, the Australian Capital Territory was an exception where stamp duty did not apply because, in part, the population was so small (8000 in 1927, rising to about 24,000 in 1950) that the costs of introduction would likely have exceeded the duty collected.
The lack of stamp duty in the ACT led to complaints by some states, especially New South Wales, that they were losing revenue as some people were conducting business in the ACT to avoid payment of stamp duty and that the ACT was a ''tax haven''.
In 1965, then Commonweath treaurerer Harold Holt announced plans to introduce stamp duty in the ACT on "cheques, promissory notes, conveyances, hire purchase transactions and so on". Perhaps not surprisingly, he was met with stiff opposition questioning the implication that Canberrans were not bearing a fair share of the taxation burden, proposing that the introduction of stamp duty should wait until after self-government and questioning whether the real purpose was to slow down the growth of Canberra by lessening business activity.
A group of ACT businessmen even formed the ACT Stamp Duty Committee to oppose the introduction of stamp duty which called for the abandonment of the introduction of stamp duty or its postponement until after it could be considered by an elected ACT legislative body. The resistance seemed to have some effect with Holt unable to make any progress on its introduction.
By 1967 William McMahon was treasurer and announced in that year's budget his determination to impose stamp duty in the ACT but by August 1968 he had found that "things were not straightforward" and that he was having more trouble than expected. He persisted, however, and was reported in The Canberra Times on February 27, 1969, as saying that legislation for stamp duty in the ACT would be introduced that year.
The ACT Advisory Council was provided with a copy of the draft bill which members discussed at their meeting on March 31, 1969. After the meeting, all eight elected members of the council resigned. Apparently, the ACT Advisory Council had dissolved itself rather than to continue to have its advice rejected by the government.
The decision related to a controversy over the closure of the Canberra Abattoir, the sewerage rate and the issue of wider council powers as well as stamp duty. The former councillors said that the people of the ACT were being denied the basic rights enjoyed by "12 million other Australians".
The treasurer defended the new taxes by saying that the growth of Canberra as a city (by then over 88,000) meant that the ACT should be taxed similarly to the states and that it was being used as a ''tax haven''. Opponents pointed to the lack of proof of the need for the new taxes, the effect on lower-income groups, and the disregard for ACT residents who could not express their feelings by direct political action.
McMahon was unmoved and stamp duty was introduced in the ACT on July 1, 1969, on cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes, hire-purchase arrangements, insurance, conveyances of land interests, and transfers of marketable securities.
The new tax was to be paid for using adhesive duty stamps which featured a stylised Canberra coat of arms and were available at post offices. The stamps were used until 1990, soon after self-government, when they were withdrawn as they had been superseded by meter imprints and periodic payments from banks and other businesses.
Although the ACT's duty stamps are no longer used, we continue to pay stamp duty. The author would welcome reports from readers on their memories of ACT duty stamps, and of any documents on which they were used. Although the ACT duty stamps are known to have been printed in large numbers, examples of their use on documents or even individual stamps used are much less common.
- Ian McMahon is president of the Philatelic Society of Canberra (www.canberrastamps.org) which was founded in 1932 and in non-Covid times holds regular meetings and stamp fairs. It is currently meeting regularly by Zoom with visitors always welcome.
- To contribute to this column, email history@canberratimes.com.au
