Income Tax

The high cost of WWI lead to a budget in the Finance (No. 2) Act 1915, summarized as follows “Income tax is now chargeable upon all incomes exceeding £130 a year, i.e. £2 10s per week, and is to be charged and paid quarterly upon the actual wages for each quarter of weekly wage-earners employed by way of manual labour”.

This caused concern that a large number of first-time tax payers would need help paying, and a weekly scheme was created as follows “Where the amount of the tax due for any quarter exceeds 6s, the collector will arrange for the payment to be spread over 13 weeks on conditions that income tax stamps are affixed weekly to a special card. This card, fully stamped, must be delivered to the collector at the end of 13 weeks from the date of its issue. Income tax stamps will be obtainable at any post office, either upon application or at short notice”.

1916 Somerset House, watermark Multi Orb IR, perf 15×14, 240 set.
Overprint in short letters.

1934 HMSO, watermark Multi Orb IR, perf 15×14, 240 set.
Overprint in larger letters.

Penny values were printed from existing unappropriated key type plates, overprinted “INCOME TAX”. Shilling values were printed from new plates with a design based on the 8d key type. This was done as stamps were to be affixed to Income Tax cards which had fixed sized spaces, and all stamps needed to be the same size. The 1/- plate had “INCOME TAX” as part of the plate and so the two printings are identical. 2/- to 10/- were overprinted the same as their corresponding penny plates.

Issued – by the Royal Mint to Somerset House.
Plate 1/492 was late as six heads had to be inserted, plate 2/493 was registered instead.
Plate 1/494 was a 1/6 fiscal plate interrupting the Income Tax sequence.