In English law, poundage was an ad valorem (in proportion to value) customs duty imposed on imports and exports at the rate of 1 shilling for every pound (of weight) of goods imported or exported. [1]
Poundage was implemented in order to keep a strong naval force that would protect the Kingdom of England. The custom duty would allow the Monarch of the Kingdom to collect money that would then be spent to develop and maintain the naval force that protects the Kingdom. [2]
Poundage was closely associated with tonnage , or tunnage, which was a duty on every tun of wine imported. [1]
The levy was introduced in 1347 under Edward III of England and was then granted by the Parliament in 1373. It continued for many years at the same rate until after the Restoration (in 1660, when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under King Charles II) from when Parliament set the rates according to current needs. [1]
Moreover, Parliament voted in 1414, under Henri V of England, the right for life for every successive monarch to benefit of a royal collection on the ton and pound on imports. [3]
Under the reign of Charles I of England (1600–1649), the House of Commons voted a limitation of the royal collection to a period of one year (while the period was for life for the previous monarchs). Charles continued to collect the customs duties, even if no Parliament act was established. [4]
In January 1629, Charles opened the second session of the Parliament of England, which had been prorogued in June 1628, with a moderate speech on the tonnage and poundage issue.
Members of the House of Commons began to voice opposition to Charles's policies in light of the case of John Rolle, a Member of Parliament whose goods had been confiscated for failing to pay tonnage and poundage.
On March 2, 1629, Charles I ordered a parliamentary adjournment, but when the parliament's speaker, Sir John Finch, was held by members of the Parliament in his chair in order to delay the end of the session, Charles decided to dissolve the parliament. Sir John Finch as well as nine members of Parliament were imprisoned.
Tonnage and Poundage Act 1640 | |
---|---|
Act of Parliament | |
Citation | 16 Cha. 1. c. 8 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 3 November 1640 |
Repealed | 28 July 1863 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1863 |
Status: Repealed |
In September 1640, following the Bishops' Wars, King Charles I issued writs summoning Parliament to convene on 3 November 1640. It was the creation of the Long Parliament, which lasted until it voted its own dissolution on the 16 March 1660.
In 1641, the Tonnage and Poundage Act 1640 (16 Cha. 1. c. 8) was voted by the Long Parliament, that would regulate all the taxes in force within the kingdom, concerning consequently the current poundage imposed on imports and exports. [5]
Under the reign of Charles II of England (1660–1685), the Convention Parliament (25 April 1660 –29 December 1660) was founded and followed the Long Parliament that was dissolved on 16 March 1660. The Convention Parliament, which had only been in existence for eight months, re-established the right for life to collect the poundage to the monarch of England. From 1660, successive monarchs were able to collect poundage once again. [4]
The Customs and Excise Act 1787 (27 Geo. 3. c. 13) replaced all the customs duties, which included poundage, by a system where individual tariffs would be applied to importations. The act was divided into two parts. The first part included a statement related to the regulation of all the customs duties; the second part listed tables of duty and drawback amounts for all types of products. [6]
A list comprising all importations and tariffs related to each import was consequently put in place.
In Britain, and elsewhere, the term poundage is used for the charge imposed on the sale of a postal order. [7]
A postal order is a financial instrument usually intended for sending money through the mail. It is purchased at a post office and is payable at another post office to the named recipient.
The poundage represents the small fee for the service that is paid by the purchaser.
Charles I was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.
The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In September 1640, King Charles I issued writs summoning a parliament to convene on 3 November 1640. He intended it to pass financial bills, a step made necessary by the costs of the Bishops' Wars against Scotland. The Long Parliament received its name from the fact that, by Act of Parliament, it stipulated it could be dissolved only with agreement of the members; and those members did not agree to its dissolution until 16 March 1660, after the English Civil War and near the close of the Interregnum.
The Tariff Act of 1789 was the first major piece of legislation passed in the United States after the ratification of the United States Constitution. It had three purposes: to support government, to protect manufacturing industries developing in the nation, and to raise revenue for the federal debt. It was sponsored by Congressman James Madison, passed by the 1st United States Congress, and signed into law by President George Washington. The act levied a 50¢ per ton duty on goods imported by foreign ships; American-owned vessels were charged 6¢ per ton.
The Navigation Acts, or more broadly the Acts of Trade and Navigation, were a long series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce with other countries and with its own colonies. The laws also regulated England's fisheries and restricted foreign—including Scottish and Irish—participation in its colonial trade. While based on earlier precedents, they were first enacted in 1651 under the Commonwealth.
HM Customs and Excise was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the collection of customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes.
The Personal Rule was the period in England from 1629 to 1640 when King Charles I ruled as an autocratic absolute monarch without recourse to Parliament. Charles claimed that he was entitled to do this under the royal prerogative and that he had a divine right.
The New Zealand Customs Service is a state sector organisation in New Zealand whose role is to provide border control and protect the community from potential risks arising from international trade and travel, as well as collecting duties and taxes on imports to the country.
Tonnage and poundage were English duties and taxes first levied in Edward II's reign on every tun (cask) of imported wine, which came mostly from Spain and Portugal, and on every pound weight of merchandise exported or imported. Traditionally tonnage and poundage was granted by Parliament to the king for life, but this practice did not continue into the reign of Charles I. Tonnage and poundage were swept away by the Customs and Excise Act 1787.
John Finch, 1st Baron Finch was an English judge, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1629. He was Speaker of the House of Commons.
HM Customs was the national Customs service of England until a merger with the Department of Excise in 1909. The phrase 'HM Customs', in use since the Middle Ages, referred both to the customs dues themselves and to the office of state established for their collection, assessment and administration.
The ATA Carnet, often referred to as the "Passport for goods", is an international customs document that permits the tax-free and duty-free temporary export and import of nonperishable goods for up to one year. It consists of unified customs declaration forms which are prepared ready to use at every border crossing point. It is a globally accepted guarantee for customs duties and taxes which can replace the security deposit required by each customs authority. It can be used in multiple countries in multiple trips up to its one-year validity. The acronym ATA is a combination of French and English terms "Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission". The ATA carnet is now the document most widely used by the business community for international operations involving temporary admission of goods.
The Adventurers' Act 1640 was an Act of the Parliament of England which specified its aim as "the speedy and effectual reducing of the rebels in His Majesty's Kingdom of Ireland".
The Convention Parliament of England followed the Long Parliament that had finally voted for its own dissolution on 16 March that year. Elected as a "free parliament", i.e. with no oath of allegiance to the Commonwealth or to the monarchy, it was predominantly Royalist in its membership. It assembled for the first time on 25 April 1660.
John Rolle (1598–1648) was a Turkey Merchant and also served as MP for the Rolle family's controlled borough of Callington, Cornwall, in 1626 and 1628 and for Truro, Cornwall, in 1640 for the Short Parliament and in November 1640 for the Long Parliament. He supported the Parliamentarian side in the English Civil War.
William Coryton (1580–1651) of West Newton Ferrers, St Mellion, Cornwall, was a Cornish gentleman who served as MP for Cornwall in 1624, 1626 and 1628, for Liskeard in 1625, for Grampound in 1640 and for Launceston 1640–41. He was expelled from Parliament for falsifying returns.
The Useless Parliament was the first Parliament of England of the reign of King Charles I, sitting only from June until August 1625. It gained its name because it transacted no significant business, making it 'useless' from the king's point of view. Parliament adjourned to Oxford on 1 August, and was dissolved on 12 August, having offended the king.
Samuel Vassall (1586–1667) was an English merchant, politician, and slave trader who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1648. Vassall was the majority shareholder of the Guinea Company, founded in 1651. Samuel Vassall was 77 when he left London for Carolina in 1663. He died in the America colonies in 1667.
This is a timeline of events leading up to, culminating in, and resulting from the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
Article I, § 10, clause 2 of the United States Constitution, known as the Import-Export Clause, prevents the states, without the consent of Congress, from imposing tariffs on imports and exports above what is necessary for their inspection laws and secures for the federal government the revenues from all tariffs on imports and exports. Several nineteenth century Supreme Court cases applied this clause to duties and imposts on interstate imports and exports. In 1869, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Import-Export Clause only applied to imports and exports with foreign nations and did not apply to imports and exports with other states, although this interpretation has been questioned by modern legal scholars.
The 3rd Parliament of King Charles I was summoned by King Charles I of England on 31 January 1628 and first assembled on 17 March 1628. The elected Speaker of the House of Commons was Sir John Finch, the Member of Parliament for Canterbury.