{{Short description|Legislation placing a tax on documents}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Use British English|date=August 2025}} {{About|the general topic|the tax on newspapers in the United Kingdom|Stamp Act 1712|the tax on printed material in the Thirteen Colonies|Stamp Act 1765}} [[File:Henry Marriott Paget - Troops escorting the stamped paper to the City Hall New York, 1766.jpg|thumb|Troops escorting the [[stamped paper]] to the City Hall New York in 1766]]
A '''stamp act''' is any legislation that requires a tax to be paid on the transfer of certain documents. Those who pay the tax receive an official stamp on their documents, making them legal documents. A variety of products have been covered by stamp acts including [[playing cards]], [[dice]], [[patent medicine]]s, [[cheque]]s, [[mortgage law|mortgages]], [[contract]]s, [[marriage license]]s and [[newspaper]]s. The items may have to be [[Impressed duty stamp|physically stamped]] at approved government offices following payment of the duty, although methods involving annual payment of a fixed sum or purchase of [[Revenue stamp|adhesive stamps]] are more practical and common.
This system of taxation was first devised in the [[Netherlands]] in 1624 after a public competition to find a new form of tax.<ref name=dagnall>[[Harry Dagnall|Dagnall, H.]] (1994) ''Creating a Good Impression: three hundred years of The Stamp Office and stamp duties.'' London: HMSO, p. 100. {{ISBN|0-11-641418-9}}</ref> Stamp acts have been enforced in many countries, including Australia, Canada, People's Republic of China, Ireland, India, Malaysia, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
The taxes raised under a stamp act are called [[stamp duty]].
==Australia==
Stamps acts were enacted in various [[States and territories of Australia|Australian states]] in 1878, 1882, 1886, 1890, and 1894, with amendments from 1892 to 1907.<ref name=YearBook1908>{{cite book | title = Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia, Containing Authoritative Statistics for the period 1901-1907 and Corrected Statistics for the period 1788 to 1900 | volume = 1.-1908 | year = 1908 | author = Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, Melbourne | publisher = McCarron, Bird & Co. | location = Melbourne, Australia | pages = 675–676 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fxF0dz0su4cC }}</ref> According to these acts, stamps were required on many types of business transactions: [[negotiable instrument]]s, [[promissory note]]s, [[Bill of lading|bills of lading]], and [[receipt]]s.<ref name=YearBook1908 />
In [[Western Australia]], duties of this type were overhauled in the Western Australian Stamp Act 1921, which took effect on 1 January 2010.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://blog.thomsonreuters.com.au/2010/05/changes-to-the-western-australian-stamp-act-1921/ | title = Changes to the Western Australian Stamp Act 1921 | first = Janina | last = Leuii | date = 19 May 2010 | work = Insider | publisher = [[Thomson Reuters]] | access-date = 12 October 2017}}</ref> In [[South Australia]], the Stamp Duties Act 1923 was first enacted in 1923, then revised or amended almost yearly until its current version of 2017.<ref>{{citation | url = https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/STAMP%20DUTIES%20ACT%201923/CURRENT/1923.1569.UN.PDF | title = Stamp Duties Act 1923 | date = 15 March 2017 | publisher = Government of South Australia}}</ref>
==United Kingdom==
===Stamps Act 1694=== {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Stamps Act 1694 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of England | long_title = An Act for granting to theire Majesties severall Dutyes upon Velum Parchment and Paper for Four Yeares towards carryyng on the warr against France. | year = 1694 | citation = [[5 & 6 Will. & Mar.]] c. 21 | territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]] | royal_assent = 25 April 1694 | commencement = 28 June 1694{{efn|name=Section1|Section 1.}} | repeal_date = 1 January 1871 | amendments = Stamps (Amendment) Act 1694 | repealing_legislation = [[Inland Revenue Repeal Act 1870]] | related_legislation = | status = Repealed | original_text = https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol6/pp495-502 | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Stamps (Amendment) Act 1694 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of England | long_title = An Act for explaineing and regulateing several Doubts Duties and Penalties in the late Act for granting several Duties upon Velum Parchment and Paper and for ascertaineing the Admeasurement of the Tunnage of Ships. | year = 1694 | citation = [[6 & 7 Will. & Mar.]] c. 12 | territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]] | royal_assent = 22 April 1695 | commencement = 7 November 1693{{efn|name=StartOfSession|Start of session.}} | repeal_date = 1 January 1871 | amends = [[Stamps Act 1694]] | amendments = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1867]] | repealing_legislation = [[Inland Revenue Repeal Act 1870]] | related_legislation = | status = Repealed | original_text = https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol6/pp592-593 | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Stamps Act 1697 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of England | long_title = An Act for granting to His Majesty His Heires & Successors further Duties upon Stampt Vellum Parchment. & Paper. | year = 1697 | citation = {{ubli|[[9 Will. 3]]. c. 25{{efn|name=StatutesOfTheRealm|This is the citation in ''[[The Statutes of the Realm]]''.}}|[[9 & 10 Will. 3]]. c. 25{{efn|name=StatutesAtLarge|This is the citation in ''[[The Statutes at Large]]''.}}}} | territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]] | royal_assent = 5 July 1698 | commencement = 1 August 1698{{efn|name=Section1}} | repeal_date = 1 January 1871 | repealing_legislation = [[Inland Revenue Repeal Act 1870]] | related_legislation = {{ubli|Stamps Act 1694|[[Bank of England Act 1696]]}} | status = Repealed | original_text = https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol7/pp386-393 | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Stamps Act 1702 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of England | long_title = An Act for preventing Frauds in Her Majesty's Duties upon stampt Vellum, Parchment, and Paper. | year = 1702 | citation = {{ubli|[[1 Ann. St. 2]]. c. 19{{efn|name=StatutesOfTheRealm}}|[[1 Ann. St. 2]]. c. 22{{efn|name=StatutesAtLarge}}}} | territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]] | royal_assent = 27 February 1703 | commencement = 25 March 1703{{efn|name=Section1}} | repeal_date = 1 January 1871 | repealing_legislation = [[Inland Revenue Repeal Act 1870]] | related_legislation = | status = Repealed | original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000033905846&seq=257 | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Stamps Act 1709 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of Great Britain | long_title = An Act for laying certain Duties upon Candles, and certain Rates upon Monies to be given with Clerks and Apprentices, towards raising Her Majesty's Supply, for the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ten. | year = 1709 | citation = {{ubli|[[8 Ann.]] c. 5{{efn|name=StatutesOfTheRealm}}|[[8 Ann.]] c. 9{{efn|name=StatutesAtLarge}}}} | territorial_extent = [[Great Britain]] | royal_assent = 24 March 1710 | commencement = 1 May 1710{{efn|name=Section1}} | repeal_date = 1 January 1871 | repealing_legislation = [[Inland Revenue Repeal Act 1870]] | related_legislation = | status = Repealed | original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000033905853&view=1up&seq=234 | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Stamps Act 1710 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of Great Britain | long_title = An Act for making good Deficiencies, and satisfying the Public Debts; and for erecting a Corporation to carry on a Trade to The South Seas; and for the Encouragement of the Fishery; and for Liberty to trade in unwrought Iron with the Subjects of Spain; and to repeal the Acts for registering Seamen. | year = 1710 | citation = {{ubli|[[9 Ann.]] c. 15{{efn|name=StatutesOfTheRealm}}|[[9 Ann.]] c. 21{{efn|name=StatutesAtLarge}}}} | territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]] | royal_assent = 12 June 1711 | commencement = 25 November 1710{{efn|name=StartOfSession}} | amendments = [[Hackney Chairs Act 1712]] | repeal_date = 1 January 1871 | repealing_legislation = [[Inland Revenue Repeal Act 1870]] | related_legislation = [[Stamps (No. 2) Act 1710]] | status = Repealed | original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000033905853&view=1up&seq=476 | collapsed = yes }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Stamps (No. 2) Act 1710 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of Great Britain | long_title = An Act for licensing and regulating Hackney Coaches and Chairs; and for charging certain new Duties on Stamped Vellum, Parchment, and Paper, and on Cards and Dice, and on the Exportation of Rock Salt for Ireland; and for securing thereby, and by a Weekly Payment out of the Post-office, and by several Duties on Hides and Skins, a Yearly Fund of One Hundred Eighty-six Thousand Six Hundred and Seventy Pounds, for Thirty-two Years, to be applied to the Satisfaction of such Orders as are therein mentioned, to the Contributors of any Sum, not exceeding Two Millions, to be raised for carrying on the War, and other Her Majesty's Occasions. | year = 1710 | citation = {{ubli|[[9 Ann.]] c. 16{{efn|name=StatutesOfTheRealm}}|[[9 Ann.]] c. 23{{efn|name=StatutesAtLarge}}}} | territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]] | royal_assent = 12 June 1711 | commencement = 24 June 1743{{efn|name=Section1}} | repeal_date = 1 January 1871 | repealing_legislation = [[Inland Revenue Repeal Act 1870]] | related_legislation = [[Stamps Act 1710]] | status = Repealed | original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000033905853&view=1up&seq=495 | collapsed = yes }} 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 four years, towards carrying on the war against [[France]]'' ([[5 & 6 Will. & Mar.]] c. 21).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Russell|first=David Lee|title=The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2000|isbn=978-0-7864-0783-5|page=27}}</ref> The duty ranged between 1 penny to several [[shilling]]s 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.
===Stamp Act 1712=== {{Main|Stamp Act 1712}}
{{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Stamp Act 1712 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of Great Britain | long_title = An Act for altering the Stamp Duties upon Admissions into Corporations or Companies; and for further securing and improving the Stamp Duties in Great Britain. | year = 1712 | citation = {{ubli|[[10 Ann.]] c. 18{{efn|name=StatutesOfTheRealm}}|[[10 Ann.]] c. 19{{efn|name=StatutesAtLarge}}}} | royal_assent = 22 May 1712 | commencement = 10 June 1712{{efn|name=Section1}} | territorial_extent = [[Great Britain]] | repeal_date = 30 June 1874 | amendments = {{ubli|[[Continuance of Laws, etc. Act 1742]]|[[Customs Law Repeal Act 1825]]|[[Statute Law Revision Act 1867]]}} | repealing_legislation = [[Revenue Officers' Disabilities Removal Act 1874]] | related_legislation = | status = Repealed | original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000033905853&view=1up&seq=647 }} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Stamps Act 1713 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of Great Britain | long_title = An Act for laying additionall Duties on Sope and Paper, and upon certain Linnens, Silks, Calncoes, and Stuffs, and upon Starch and exported Coals, and upon stampt Vellum, Parchment, and Paper, for raising One million four hundred thousand Pounds, by way of a Lottery, for Her Majesties Supply; and for Allowances on exporting made Wares, of Leather, Sheep-skins, and Lamb-skins; and for Distribution of Four thousand Pounds, due to the Officers and Seamen for Gun-money; and to adjust the Property of Tickets in former Lotteries; and touching certain Shares of Stock in the Capital of the South Sea Company; and for appropriating the Monies granted to Her Majesty. | year = 1713 | citation = {{ubli|[[13 Ann.]] c. 18{{efn|name=StatutesOfTheRealm}}|[[12 Ann. St. 2]] c. 9{{efn|name=StatutesAtLarge}}}} | territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]] | royal_assent = 9 July 1714 | commencement = 2 August 1714{{efn|name=Section1}} | expiry_date = 2 August 1746{{efn|name=Section1}} | repeal_date = 1 January 1871 | amendments = {{ubli|[[Duties on Soap Act 1840]]}} | repealing_legislation = [[Inland Revenue Repeal Act 1870]] | related_legislation = | status = Repealed | original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000033905853&view=1up&seq=994 | collapsed = yes }}
The [[Stamp Act 1712]] ([[10 Ann.]] c. 18){{efn|name=StatutesOfTheRealm}} was an act passed in the [[United Kingdom]] on 1 August 1712 to create a new tax on publishers, particularly of newspapers.<ref name="Thomas-1916">{{cite journal | jstor = 456958 | title = Swift and the Stamp Act of 1712 | first = Joseph M. | last = Thomas | journal = PMLA | publisher = Modern Language Association | volume = 31 | number = 2 | year = 1916 | pages = 247–263 | doi = 10.2307/456958}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://ebooks.cambridge.org/chapter.jsf?bid=CBO9780511895890&cid=CBO9780511895890A016 | chapter = 7 - The Stamp Act of 1712 | title = Robert Harley and the Press: Propaganda and Public Opinion in the Age of Swift and Defoe | first = J. A. | last = Downie | publisher=Cambridge University Press |date= 1979 | access-date=2013-10-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20350074 |title=BBC News - The key moments that shaped the British press |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2012-11-17 |access-date=2013-10-07}}</ref> The initial assessed rate of tax was one penny per whole newspaper sheet, a halfpenny for a half sheet, and one shilling per advertisement contained within.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YBCdZpj7g3oC&q=swift%20stamp%20act&pg=PA568 |title=Swift: The Man, His Works, And The Age | volume = II: Dr. Swift | first = Irvin | last = Ehrenpreis |author-link=Irvin Ehrenpreis |publisher= Harvard University Press |date= 1967 |access-date=2013-10-07|isbn=978-0-674-85832-9 }}</ref> Other than newspapers, it required that all pamphlets, legal documents, commercial bills, advertisements, and other papers be issued the tax.<ref>{{cite web | title = Stamp Act | access-date = December 14, 2012 | publisher = Infoplease.com | url = http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/stamp-act.html}}</ref> The act was increased in 1797 with greater taxes and wider spectrum of materials affected, reached its height around 1815 during the "[[taxes on knowledge]]" struggle, reduced in 1836, and repealed in 1855.<ref>{{cite web | title = A brief timeline of UK newspaper publishing | access-date = December 5, 2012 | url = http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/learning_modules/history/04.TU.04/?style=expander_popup&filename=expandables/04.EX.08.xml | work = Making the Modern World | publisher = The Science Museum}}</ref>
The stamp tax was a tax on each newspaper and thus hit cheaper papers and popular readership harder than wealthy consumers, because it formed a higher proportion of the purchase price. The act had a [[chilling effect (law)|chilling effect]] on publishers; the tax is blamed for the decline of English literature critical of the government during the period, notably with ''[[The Spectator (1711)|The Spectator]]'' ending the same year of the tax's enactment.<ref name="Justice2002">{{cite book|first=George | last = Justice|title=The Manufacturers of Literature: Writing and the Literary Marketplace in Eighteenth-Century England|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVYiuo_4F9MC|access-date=10 December 2012|year=2002|publisher=University of Delaware Press|isbn=978-0-87413-750-7|page=44}}</ref> Its repeal in 1855 allowed a cheap press again.
=== Stamp Duties Management Act 1891 and Stamp Act 1891{{anchor|Stamp Duties Management Act 1891|Stamp Act 1891}}===
The above act were superseded by the [[Stamp Duties Management Act 1891]] ([[54 & 55 Vict.]] c. 38) and the [[Stamp Act 1891]] ([[54 & 55 Vict.]] c. 39), which still constitute the bulk of UK law on stamp duties today.
===The modern UK Stamp Act===
From 1914 to 1928, the Director of Stamping at the [[Stamp Office]] oversaw the production of ''Treasury Notes'' (a type of banknote, not to be confused with [[Treasury security#Treasury note|US Treasury notes]]). These were issued for denominations of £1 and 10's to enable coins to be removed from circulation and were not convertible to gold. Existing Bank of England banknotes in higher denominations continued to circulate alongside the Treasury Notes. In 1963 production of postage stamps passed to the [[General Post Office]].
The [[Finance Act 1986]] introduced [[Stamp duty#Stamp Duty Reserve Tax|Stamp Duty Reserve Tax]]. From October 27, 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 [[artifact (archaeology)|artefact]]s 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 [[HM Revenue and Customs]].
==Israel== {{main|Taxation in Israel}}
Israel used to have a stamp duty on signed documents,<ref name=Customs&VAT>{{cite web | url = http://ozar.mof.gov.il/ita2013/1999to2008/1997to2004/eng/hodaa05_05_04_2.htm | author = Department of Customs & VAT | title = Notice to the Public: Stamp Tax | date = 5 May 2004 | publisher = The State of Israel | access-date = 27 November 2017}}</ref> which was regulated by the 1961 "Stamp Tax on Documents" (Law 5731-1961),<ref>{{citation | title = Stamp Tax on Documents: Law 5731-1961, a full text English translation incorporating all changes up to and including September 1, 2003 | publisher = Aryeh Greenfield-A.G. | location = Haifa | language = en | date = September 2003 | lccn = 2004418547 | oclc = 54429051 | ol = 3361544M | url = https://openlibrary.org/works/OL793122W/Stamp_tax_on_documents_law_5731-1961}}</ref> the 1965 "Stamp Tax on Documents Regulations",<ref name=Customs&VAT /> and subsequent Additions.<ref name=Customs&VAT /> The stamp duty was repealed as of 2006.<ref>{{citation | url = http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Tax/dttl-tax-israelguide-2012.pdf | title = Taxation and Investment in Israel 2012: Reach, relevance and reliability | page = 14 | publisher = Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited }}</ref>
==People's Republic of China== {{main|Taxation in China}}
As part of domestic taxation, the PRC includes a stamp tax as one of the "behavioural taxes". Foreign investors are also subject to a stamp tax. Stamp taxes in China are governed by "Provisional Regulations of the People's Republic of China Concerning Stamp Tax Detailed Rules for Its Implementation", implemented in 1988. In 1997, stamp taxes produced revenue of 26.63 billion [[Renminbi|yuan]] and comprised 3.6% of China's [[gross domestic product]].
==United States==
===Stamp Act 1765=== {{Main|Stamp Act 1765}}
{{See also|American Revolutionary War#Background and political developments}}
After Great Britain was victorious over France in the [[Seven Years' War]] – which manifested in America as the [[French and Indian War]] – a small Stamp Act was enacted that covered all sorts of documents. The [[Stamp Act 1765]] (short title ''Duties in American Colonies Act 1765''; [[5 Geo. 3]]. c. 12) was a [[direct tax]] imposed by the [[Parliament of Great Britain|British Parliament]] on the colonies of [[British America]]. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on [[stamped paper]] produced in London and carrying an embossed [[revenue stamp]].<ref>Morgan and Morgan (1995), pp. 96-97.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title = The Stamp Act of 1765 - A Serendipitous Find | first = Hermann | last = Ivester | journal = The Revenue Journal | publisher = The [[Revenue Society]] | volume = XX | issue = 3 | date = December 2009 | pages = 87–89}}</ref> These printed materials were on every legal document, magazine, and newspaper, plus many other types of paper used throughout the colonies, including playing cards.<ref name=Williamsburg>{{cite web | url = http://www.history.org/history/teaching/tchcrsta.cfm | title = A Summary of the 1765 Stamp Act | work = Education | publisher = The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation | access-date = 12 October 2017}}</ref> Unlike previous taxes, the stamp tax had to be paid in valid British currency, not in colonial paper money.
The purpose of the tax was to help pay for troops stationed in North America. The British government felt that the colonies were the primary beneficiaries of this military presence, and the colonial population should pay at least a portion of the expense. The colonists claimed their constitutional rights were violated since only their own colonial legislatures could levy taxes.<ref>{{cite book | first1 = Edmund S. |last1 = Morgan | first2 = Helen M. | last2 = Morgan | title = The Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to Revolution | year = 1995 | publisher = The University of North Carolina Press | asin = B01FGOQCC4}}</ref> The colonies sent no representatives to Parliament, and therefore had no influence over what taxes were raised, how they were levied, or how they would be spent. Some opponents of the Stamp Act distinguished between "internal" taxes like the stamp duty, which they claimed Parliament had no right to impose, and revenue legitimately raised through the regulation on trade.<ref name=Williamsburg /> In general, however, most colonists considered the Act to be a violation of their rights as Englishmen to be taxed without their consent – consent that only the colonial legislatures could grant because Americans were unrepresented in Parliament. The rallying cry of "[[No Taxation without Representation]]" reflected an increasingly major grievance that led to the [[American Revolution]].<ref name=ThisDay>{{cite web | url = http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/parliament-repeals-the-stamp-act | title = This Day in History: March 18, 1766 – Parliament repeals the Stamp Act | work = [[History (U.S. TV network)|History]] | publisher = A&E Television Networks, LLC | access-date = 12 October 2017}}</ref> The Americans saw no need for the troops or the taxes; the British saw colonial defiance of their lawful rulers.<ref>{{cite book | first = Gordon S. | last = Wood | title = The American Revolution: A History | url = https://archive.org/details/americanrevoluti00gord | url-access = registration | publisher = Modern Library | year = 2002 | page = [https://archive.org/details/americanrevoluti00gord/page/24 24] | asin = B01K2REAH4}}</ref>
The Stamp Act met great resistance in the colonies. Colonial assemblies sent petitions and protests. Local protest groups, led by [[Liberty Boys]], colonial merchants and landowners, established connections through correspondence – the so-called "[[Committees of Correspondence]] – that created a loose coalition extending from New England to Georgia. British goods were [[boycotted]].<ref name=ThisDay /><ref name=PennState>{{cite web | url = https://www.engr.psu.edu/mtah/timelines/timeline3.htm | title = Colonial American Timeline | work = Building Community: Medieval Technology and American History | first = Brigitte | last = Weinsteiger | publisher = [[Pennsylvania State University]], Center for Medieval Studies | access-date = 12 October 2017}}</ref> Opposition to the tax also took the form of violence and intimidation. [[Custom house]]s and [[tax collectors]] were attacked.<ref name=ThisDay /> Protests and demonstrations initiated by the newly formed [[Sons of Liberty]] often turned violent and destructive as the masses became involved. A word used frequently by colonists was "liberty" during the Stamp Act upheaval. Opponents of the new tax staged mock funerals in which "liberty's" coffin was carried to a burial ground. They insisted that liberty could not be "taken away without consent."<ref>{{cite book | first = Eric | last = Foner | title = Give Me Liberty! An American History, Volume One | edition = Second | year = 2008 | pages = 176, 178 | publisher = W. W. Norton & Company | asin = B011DC94BO}}</ref>
A more reasoned approach was taken by some elements. [[James Otis, Jr.]] wrote the most influential protest, ''The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved''. Otis, the radical leader in Massachusetts, convinced the Massachusetts assembly to send a circular letter to the other colonies, which called for an inter-colonial meeting to plan tempered resistance. The [[Stamp Act Congress]] convened in New York City on October 7, 1765, with nine colonies in attendance; others would likely have participated if earlier notice had been provided. The [[Stamp Act Congress]] was another step in the process of attempted common problem-solving. The [[Albany Congress]] in 1754 had been held at the urging of royal officials as a forum for voicing constitutional concerns and afforded the more conservative critics of British policy some hope of regaining control of events from the unruly mobs in the streets of many cities; in contrast, the Stamp Act Congress was strictly a colonial affair, reflecting the first significant joint colonial response to any British measure. Delegates to the Stamp Act Congress approved a fourteen-point ''Declaration of Rights and Grievances'' as a petition to the Parliament and the [[George III of the United Kingdom|King]], formulated largely by [[John Dickinson (Pennsylvania and Delaware)|John Dickinson]] of Pennsylvania. The statement echoed the recent resolves of the Virginia [[House of Burgesses]], which argued that colonial taxation could only be carried on by their own assemblies.<ref name=Williamsburg /> The delegates singled out the Stamp Act and the use of the vice-admiralty courts for special criticism, yet ended their statement with a pledge of loyalty to the King.
Opposition to the Stamp Act was not limited to the colonies. In Canada, Nova Scotia largely ignored the Act; they allowed ships bearing unstamped papers to enter its ports, and business continued unabated after the distributors ran out of stamps.<ref>{{cite journal | first = Wilfred B. | last = Kerr | title = The Stamp Act in Nova Scotia | journal = New England Quarterly | date = September 1933 | volume = 6 | number = 3 | pages = 552–566 | jstor = 359557| doi = 10.2307/359557 }}</ref> [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] experienced some protests and petitions based on legislation dating back to the reign of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] forbidding any sort of duties on the importation of goods related to its fisheries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Anspach|first=Lewis Amadeus|title=A History of the Island of Newfoundland|url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryislandn00anspgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryislandn00anspgoog/page/n220 192]|publisher=self-published|year=1819|location=London|oclc=1654202}}</ref> The Caribbean colonies also protested. Political opposition was expressed in a number of colonies, including [[Barbados]] and [[Antigua]], and by absentee landowners living in Britain. The worst violence took place on [[St. Kitts]] and [[Nevis]], with rioting and blockage of stamp delivery. [[Montserrat]] and Antigua also succeeded in avoiding the use of stamps. In [[Jamaica]] there was also vocal opposition, and much evasion of the stamps.<ref>{{cite journal | first = Andrew J. | last = O'Shaughnessy | title = The Stamp Act Crisis in the British Caribbean | journal = William and Mary Quarterly | date = Apr 1994 | volume = 51 | number = 2 | pages = 203–26 | jstor = 2946860| doi = 10.2307/2946860 }}</ref> British merchants and manufacturers, whose exports to the colonies were threatened by colonial boycotts, also pressured Parliament.
The act was repealed in early 1766, although the [[Declaratory Act]] maintained Parliament's right to tax the colonies.<ref name=ThisDay />
===Revival=== {{Main|Revenue stamps of the United States}}
"Revenue stamps" were revived in the United States during the [[American Civil War]]. In 1862, the United States (Union) government began taxing a variety of goods, services, and legal dealings, in an effort to raise revenue for the great costs of the war.<ref name=PostalMuseum-Washington>{{cite web | url = http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&tid=2047019 | title = 5000-dollar Washington | work = Arago: People, Postage & the Post | publisher = Smithsonian [[National Postal Museum]] | access-date = 12 October 2017}}</ref> To confirm that taxes were paid a "revenue stamp" was purchased and appropriately affixed to the taxable item.<ref name=PostalMuseum-Washington /> This excise tax continued until the federal government finished paying the war debt in 1883, at which time the tax was repealed.<ref name=PostalMuseum-Washington />
In 1898, revenue stamps were again issued, to provide funding for the [[Spanish–American War]]. Tax was levied on a wide range of goods and services including alcohol, tobacco, tea, and other amusements and also on various legal and business transactions such as [[stock certificates]], [[Bill of lading|bills of lading]], [[Manifest (transportation)|manifests]], and [[marine insurance]]. To pay these tax duties revenue tax stamps were purchased and affixed to the taxable item or respective certificate.<ref>{{cite book | last = Garbade | first = Kenneth D. | year = 2012 | title = Birth of a Market: The U.S. Treasury Securities Market From the Great War to the Great Depression | publisher = MIT Press | location = Cambridge, Massachusetts | page = 29}}</ref>
Revenue stamps were issued at irregular intervals for alcohol products, tobacco products, matches, proprietary medicines, and perfumes.<ref name=PostalMuseum-General>{{cite web | url = https://arago.si.edu/record_73270_img_1.html | title = General Issues | work = Arago: People, Postage & the Post | publisher = Smithsonian [[National Postal Museum]] | access-date = 12 October 2017}}</ref> Revenue stamps were finally discontinued on December 31, 1967.
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Tax legislation]] [[Category:Revenue stamps]] [[Category:Tax legislation in England]] [[Category:Tax legislation in Great Britain]] [[Category:Stamp duty]]
[[es:Ley del Timbre]] [[fr:Droit d'enregistrement]]