The ''Bank Notes Tax Act 1910'' was an Act of the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

which imposed a prohibitive tax on

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

s issued by

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The Act was enacted in October 1910 by the Fisher Labour Government under

Section 51 (xii) of the Constitution of Australia Section 51 (xii): is a subsection of Section 51 of the Constitution of Australia, that gives the Commonwealth Parliament the right to legislate with respect to “currency, coinage, and legal tender.” Generally, powers in section 51 of the Con ...

that gives the Commonwealth Parliament the power to legislate with respect to “currency, coinage, and legal tender” and the taxing power. The Act imposed an annual tax of 10% on "all bank notes issued or re-issued by any bank in the Commonwealth after the commencement of this Act and not redeemed." The tax commenced in March 1911. In September 1910, the federal government had passed the ''

Australian Notes Act 1910 The ''Australian Notes Act 1910'' was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which allowed for the creation of Australia's first national banknotes. In conjunction with the ''Coinage Act 1909'' it created the Australian pound as a separate natio ...

'' which introduced an Australian national currency, the

Australian pound The pound ( Sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (denoted by the symbol ...

, and, as part of the scheme, the objective of the ''Bank Notes Tax Act'' was to end the use of private currency in Australia, which it had achieved.

Subsequent events

The ''Bank Notes Tax Act'' was repealed by the ''Commonwealth Bank Act 1945'', enacted by the Chifley Labor Government, which instead imposed a fine for issuing a private currency. S.44(1) of the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' now prohibits private and state currencies.
s.44
/ref>

References

Currencies of Australia Repealed Acts of the Parliament of Australia 1910 in Australian law History of taxation in Australia {{Australia-gov-stub

Subsequent events

See also

References