![Western Australia stamp duty 1918](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Western_Australia_stamp_duty_1918.jpg)
The Australian state of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...
issued
revenue stamp
A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration ...
s from 1881 to 1973. There were various types for different taxes.
[Barefoot, John. ''British Commonwealth Revenues''. 9th edition. York: J. Barefoot, 2012, pp. 56-62. ]
Revenue
![Western Australia 1898 Internal Revenue £1 Swan stamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Western_Australia_1898_Internal_Revenue_%C2%A31_Swan_stamp.jpg)
Western Australia's first general duty revenue stamps were postage stamps showing a
black swan
The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon ...
overprinted I R in 1881. A year later special printings of postage stamps in lilac were similarly overprinted, but this time they were also surcharged with a new value. These were replaced by a new set in a large format inscribed WESTERN AUSTRALIA INTERNAL REVENUE.
![Western Australia 15 shillings Revenue stamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Western_Australia_15_shillings_Revenue_stamp.jpg)
In 1904, the name of the tax was changed from "Internal Revenue" to "Stamp Duty". A new horizontal design again showing the swan was issued. This design remained in use for many years, resulting in many reprints which led to various changes in perforation, watermark, colours and plates.
In 1941, a new set was issued inscribed REVENUE DUTY W.A. This also showed the swan, but the design was now smaller. Initially five values from 1d to 1/- were issued, but new values continued to be issued, the highest being the £10 in 1951 and in 1963. This set remained in use until the
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Is ...
was adopted in 1966. From that year until 1973, a large set of sixteen values from 1c to $50 was issued. Each value had a different wildlife design.
Other adhesive revenues
"Internal Revenue" or "Revenue Duty" stamps were also overprinted for the following purposes:
*Cattle Sales Stamp Duty (1964)
*Probate Duty (1903-1905)
*Supreme Court (1903-1905)
In addition, special stamps were also used for several other purposes. These were:
*Beer Duty (1898-1906)
*Egg Stabilisation Charge (1940-1942)
*Financial Emergency Tax (1932-1940)
*Government Savings Bank Duty (1906)
*Hospital Fund (1930-1942)
*Pig Duty (1943-1966)
*Supreme Court Fees (1907-1922)
*Supreme Court Probate (1907-1925)
*Tax Instalment (1940-1941)
Apart from these, stamps were prepared to pay for fines by the Workers Home Board in 1912. However these were never issued and only mint copies from the printers' archives exist today.
Impressed and imprinted stamps
![Circa_1907_Western_Australia_impressed_duty_stamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Circa_1907_Western_Australia_impressed_duty_stamp.png)
Western Australia also had many
impressed duty stamp
An impressed duty stamp is a form of revenue stamp created by ''impressing'' ( embossing) a stamp onto a document using a metal die to show that the required ''duty'' (tax) had been paid. The stamps have been used to collect a wide variety of taxe ...
s. They started in 1881 and were initially colourless, with the embossing just leaving an impression on the document. Colourless embossed duty stamps remained in use for many years, and in the 1960s similar imprints denominated in cents were used. From 1905, impressed duty stamps in a 'tombstone' design in vermilion were also used. Many values exist, ranging from 1d to £500. Like their colourless counterparts, these were also reissued in decimal currency in 1966 when values from 10c to $1 were used.
Cheques also had directly printed imprints instead of embossed or impressed stamps from the 1950s onwards. Imprints were also used for betting duty and entertainments tax.
See also
*
Postage stamps and postal history of Western Australia
Western Australia, a state of Australia and formerly a British colony, established its postal service soon after the British settled in 1829; in December of that year, Fremantle's harbourmaster was appointed postmaster. A post office in Albany ...
*
Revenue stamps of Australia
Australia issued revenue stamps from 1907 to 1994. There were various types for different taxes. In addition to Commonwealth issues, the states of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia as well as the ...
References
External links
Western Australia Revenue Stamps - Catalogue by Dave ElsmoreExhibit by Dave Elsmore
{{Revenue Stamps
Philately of Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
Economy of Western Australia