Back to Top

Tag Archives: Taxes

I was thinking I would post more about my pugilism research but I when I wasn’t writing, I was prepping documentation for taxes.

Taxes. Boy. Record keeping. ::sob::

Anyway, here’s ten interesting facts about English Taxes during the Regency.

1. 1,308,254 5s 3 1/4d: Land tax gross receipts (England) in 1811

2. 12,358,673 2s 2 1/2d: Property Tax collected in 1811

3. 3,096 7s 11d: Income Tax collected in 1811

4. 11,322 19s 11d: Income tax collected in Scotland in 1811

5. 112,937 10s 0d: Monies Ireland received from Great Britain, representing 1/3 of the profit on the 1810 lottery

6. PROPERTY TAX.
This poor tax is now become as much the object of senseless abuse as were, in 1798, those who endeavoured to prevent it from being imposed. In 1812 an unfortunate man, named Carter, was imprisoned in jaol [sic], for a year, and lined, for having published a paragraph complaining of the operation of this tax. My Lord Folkestone, who made a motion upon this subject, described this paragraph as being moderate and inoffensive. Yet, for republishing the same paragraph, Mr. Lovell of the Statesman was imprisoned a year or 18. months in Newgate, and also fined,—The selfish and, unfeeling crowds, who are now clamouring against this tax; who are abusing it; who are applying to it all sorts of vile epithets and names, because they now feel the pinch of their pockets; these persons never meet to petition against the prosecutions of the press; no, and they never would have met for that purpose, if every press in England had been demolished and the types thrown into the street, as were those of the American printers at the City of Washington, by command of our military and naval commanders. Saturday, January 18, 1815, Cobbett’s Political Register

7. XVI. And Whereas Difficulties may arise in discovering Lodgers or Inmates in Houses liable to pay the said Rates, Duties and Taxes, in respect of Carriages, Male Servants and other Male Persons, Horses, Mares, Geldings and Dogs; Be it therefore enacted, That the Owner of any House letting the same, or Owners of any Part thereof, to any Lodger or Lodgers in which any Lodger or Inmate shall reside, who shall keep, retain, employ or use any Carriage, Male Servant or other Male Person, Horse, Mare, Gelding or Dog, shall &c. kept shall deliver to any such Officer or other Person authorized as aforesaid, on Demand, or within Ten Days after by their Lodgers. Notice served by such Officer or other Person authorized as aforesaid, by leaving or causing to be left the same at the House of such Person as aforesaid, a true List or Account in Writing under the Hand of such Owner expressing the Name and Surname of every such Lodger or Inmate, with an Account of every Carriage, Male Servant or other Male Person, Horse, Mare, Gelding or Dog kept, retained, employed or used by such Lodger or Inmate, to the best of the Knowledge and Information of such Owner j and if any such Owner (hall neglect or refuse to deliver such List or Account as aforesaid, or shall wilfully omit or misrepresent any Description which ought to be contained therein, or shall make or deliver any undue or false List or Account, every such Person so offending shall for every such Offence forfeit the Sum of Twenty Pounds. Penalty. The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 24 (1816)

8. In Great Britain, the principal taxes upon the necessaries of life are those upon salt, leather, soap, and candles. Heavy taxes upon these commodities must somewhat increase the expence of the sober and industrious poor, and must, consesquently, more or less raise the wages of their labour. Such taxes, notwithstanding their immediate effect, afford a considerable revenue to government, and accordingly they are continued and multiplied.Consumable commodities, whether necessaries or luxuries, may be taxed in two different ways. The consumer may either pay an annual sum on account of his using or consuming goods of a certain kind ; or the goods may be taxed while they remain in the hands of the dealer, and before they are delivered to the consumer. The consumable goods which last a considerable time before they are consumed altogether, are most properly taxed in the one way. Those of which the consumption is either immediate or more speedy, in the other. The Cyclopædia: Or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and …, Volume 35

9. An Act to repeal the additional Duty on British made Wine or Sweets granted by an Act of this Session of Parliament. [25th May 1815.]

WHEREAS by an Act made in this Session of Parliament, intituled An Act for granting to His Majesty, until the Fifth Day of April One thousand eight hundred and nineteen, additional Duties of Excise in Great Britain, on Sweets, Tobacco, Snuff and Excise Licences, an additional Duty of Excise Is imposed for Liquor made in Great Britain for Sale, by Infusion, Fermentation or otherwise from Fruit or ‘Sugar, or from Fruit or Sugar mixed with any other Ingredients or Materials whatsoever, commonly called « Sweets, or called or distinguished by the Name of Made Wines: And Whereas it is expedient to repeal the ‘said additional Duty;’ Be it therefore enacted by The King’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That, from and aster the Eighteenth Day of February One thousand eight hundred and fifteen, the said additional Duty shall be and the same is hereby repealed. repealed.

II. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioners of Excise in England and Scotland respectively, or Entries of any Three or more of them respectively, shall and they respectively are hereby authorized and empowered to Duties to cause any Sum or Sums of Money which shall have been charged as any such additional Duty for or in respect charged of any such British-made Wine or Sweets to be discharged from and out of the Books and other Documents containing any Entry or Entries of or relating to any such Charge, or Sum or Sums of Money. The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 24 (1816)

10. Examination of Lord Henry Petty’s Plan of Finance.

We have already given an account of Lord Henry Petty’s plan of finance. It was proposed to Parliament and the public, in the year 1807, accompanied with an elaborate set of tables. Being very complex, it was not generally understood. As it promised to raise the necessary loans with little or no increase of taxes, it was favourably received, and probably would have been continued for some years if the ministry who brought it forward had remained in office.
INQUIRY CONCERNING THE RISE AND PROGRESS, THE REDEMPTI0N AND PRESENT STATE, AND THE MANAGEMENT, OF THE NATIONAL DEBT GREAT BRITAIN. (1814)

Number 10 is my favorite.

Posted in Former Riskies, History, Regency | Tagged | 2 Replies

This is an update of a post that appeared in April 2010 but since the IRS has updated the form and instructions I thought it was worth revisiting.

Schedule OMG.HEA.2010 is specifically for romance writers.

Turn to the Subgenre Definition pages beginning on page 17 and pick your subgenre. You may pick only one. If you write in a variety of subgenres, choose 21, Indecisive wallower, 22, Overachiever, 23, I’m just a girl who can’t say no, or 57, Desperately trying to save career by changing subgenres because last book tanked. Enter in Box A.

Take your zip code, divide it by the number of pages completed in your WIP and enter the number in Box B.

Add the number of times your book has been pirated. Multiply by -15. If you were not paying attention in math class because you were writing torrid romances starring you and David Bowie and do not remember how to multiply with a minus number, you’re in trouble.

On the following lines enter the following numbers from the first fifty pages of the book:

  1. Times your h/h have sex. If you are writing an inspirational, you should enter 10.
  2. Times your h/h have sex with another person(s) or being(s) (including, but not limited to, shapeshifters) and multiply by five. If you are writing an inspirational, you should enter 50.
  3. Heroic hair-raking within the first fifty pages.
  4. Heroic striding indoors, enter either the distance traveled, calculated in feet or the number 300, whichever is smaller.
  5. Heroic striding outdoors, enter either the distance traveled, calculated in feet or the number 300, whichever is larger.
  6. Mentions of heroine’s eye/hair color. Note: if colors for 2 or 3 change, please refer to Publication CE.AA.2010.

Enter your total for Box B.

Transfer the number in Box B to Box K for no apparent reason.

Note: If your score is less than 2, please make sure you are writing within the correct genre. Refer to Publication WTF.2011 for more guidance and complete the appropriate Genre Form.

Now turn to your most recently published work. Enter its ISBN, page count, and predominant font family used on the cover in Box C.

Please check the appropriate box if your cover contains the following:

  1. Historically inaccurate shirt.
  2. Mullet.
  3. Green or blue eyeshadow (hero or heroine).
  4. Chandelier with lightbulbs instead of candles.
  5. Physically impossible stance.

Write the total number of checked boxes on the next line. On the following lines:

  1. Instances of egregious photoshop art, add 10 for each.
  2. *Extra nipples, limbs or digits (hero or heroine), multiply each by 10 and enter.
  3. Glaring typo on your back cover blurb, enter 20.
  4. Mantitty, enter 50.

* Unless you are writing paranormal romance and this is purely representative.

Enter your total for Box C.

If your cover art contains none of the above, please refer to Publication WTF.2010 as you may be writing a different genre.

The totals for Boxes B and C, plus the ages of your children and/or pets and your agent’s and editors’ heights in centimeters when sitting down.
Multiply by 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375
Multiply by 10 to make a nice big fat number and round off to the nearest thousand. This is your owed tax for 2010.

Take the sheet that contains Box K, put it aside in a file, and worry about it for a few months.

Please feel free to share your tax expertise with the rest of us. Only sixteen days to go!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 5 Replies

Like so many others, I’m working on my taxes, which takes me hours, because I save all my record-keeping for tax time and then have to find, organize, and record all my necessary information. And all this is just to take the stuff to the accountant.

I have no complaints about paying taxes. As a former public employee, married to a public employee, I have an acute sense of what taxes pay for in our society. In Regency times, however, some of the taxes seem pretty odd to us.

Window Tax.
In 1697 Parliament passed a tax on windows. The more windows in a dwelling, the higher the tax. At the time it seemed a fair way to levy taxes without requiring citizens to divulge personal financial information as they would need to do for income tax. It was assumed that the wealthier the person, the bigger the house and the more windows. The wealthy embraced this idea and began to use windows as a way to display status and success. On the other hand, landlords who owned buildings that housed the working classes, resented the tax and bricked up windows to avoid payment. The resulting lack of ventilation simply made bad living situations worse.

Glass Excise Tax.
First levied in 1745, the Glass Excise tax was initially levied on the raw materials that produced glass, but later became a tax on the glass products and was based on weight. Again, the rich embraced the use of glass in large and numerous windows as a way of showing the world how affluent they were. Glass green houses were further proof of wealth. The tax but a burden on glass manufacturere and over the years the law was tweaked, easing the tax on production houses manufacturing small glass products or those making optical glass. In 1845 it was appealed altogether. In 1851 so was the Window tax.

Have you come across any other strange taxes of the Regency period or of any historical period? Have you filed your taxes yet???

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 10 Replies

The horror that is April 15 is now well behind us (I hope) so it’s time to take stock of the coming year. I’ve been fortunate enough to find some information that I think will be of great use to writers, instructions for Schedule OMG.HEA.2010. Remember, just like the contemporary hero with his well-stocked wallet, there’s nothing like being ready.

Turn to the Subgenre Definition pages beginning on page 17 and pick your subgenre. You may pick only one. If you write in a variety of subgenres, choose 21, Indecisive wallower, 22, Overachiever or 23, I’m just a girl who can’t say no. Enter in Box A.

Take your zip code, divide it by the number of pages completed in your WIP and enter the number in Box B.

On the following lines enter the following numbers from the first fifty pages of the book:

  1. Times your h/h have sex. If you are writing an inspirational, you should enter 10.
  2. Times your h/h have sex with another person(s) or being(s) (including, but not limited to, shapeshifters) and multiply by five. If you are writing an inspirational, you should enter 50.
  3. Heroic hair-raking within the first fifty pages.
  4. Mentions of hero’s eye/hair color.
  5. Mentions of heroine’s eye/hair color. Note: if colors for 2 or 3 change, please refer to Publication CE.AA.2010.

Enter your total for Box B.

Note: If your score is less than 2, please make sure you are writing within the correct genre. Refer to Publication WTF.2010 for more guidance and complete the appropriate Genre Form.

Now turn to your most recently published work. Enter its ISBN, page count, and predominant font family used on the cover in Box C.

Please check the appropriate box if your cover contains the following:

  1. Historically inaccurate shirt.
  2. Mullet.
  3. Green or blue eyeshadow (hero or heroine).
  4. Chandelier with lightbulbs instead of candles.
  5. Physically impossible stance.

Write the total number of checked boxes on the next line. On the following lines:

  1. Instances of egregious photoshop art, add 10 for each.
  2. *Extra nipples, limbs or digits (hero or heroine), multiply each by 10 and enter.
  3. Glaring typo on your back cover blurb, enter 20.
  4. Mantitty, enter 50.

* Unless you are writing paranormal romance and this is purely representative.

Enter your total for Box C.

If your cover art contains none of the above, please refer to Publication WTF.2010 as you may be writing a different genre.

The totals for Boxes B and C, plus the ages of your children and/or pets and your agent’s and editors’ heights in centimeters.
Multiply by 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375
Multiply by 10 to make a nice big fat number and round off to the nearest thousand. This is your estimated tax for 2010.

Please feel free to share your tax expertise with the rest of us. It’s never too early.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 10 Replies

Last week I mentioned that I was going to Hillwood House, the home of the late Marjorie Merriweather Post. Post designed the house to be a living museum and it is beautiful. She was a collector of decorative arts, especially from 18th century France and pre-Communist Russia, like the Fabergé egg shown here (not from her collection).

There were some Regency era paintings. One I correctly guessed as a Thomas Lawrence (I was so proud of myself). Another one I asked about, but our tour guide was obviously a Russian scholar and nothing else quite registered with her. So she didn’t know…
The Lawrence, was the Portrait of Mrs. Michel nee Anne Fane.

It was a lovely day spent with writing friends!

Today won’t be so much fun.

First is my trip to the accountant for the taxes. I used to do our taxes myself, but as they got more complex, I’d have an anxiety attack every time. It is so much better to hand them to the accountant. She likes reading Romance, so I always bring her a book.

It got me thinking about taxes during the Regency, when there were taxes on everything. From What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew (which, by the way, is on sale for $5.99 on Amazon), there were taxes on “land, income, the practice of law, newspaper advertisements, glass, candles, beer,malt, carriages, menservants, coats of arms, newspapers, paper, bricks, stone, coal, windows, corn, soap, horses, dogs, salt, sugar, raisins, tea, coffee, tobacco, playing cards, timber, silk, and…headgear.”

I don’t feel so bad now…..

Except, I have to go to the dentist afterward. My dentist is a great guy and an enthusiastic supporter of my writing (he once phoned me on a Sunday to tell me about a History Channel show about dueling, which he knew I was researching). He’s a bit advanced from the Regency dentist, though. This is from the Jane Austen Society of Australia, about Jane’s visit to the dentist with three of her nieces:

‘The poor girls & their teeth!’ a Visit to the Dentist by Joanna Penglase
“Mr Spence remonstrates strongly over Lizzy’s teeth, cleaning and filing them and filling the ‘very sad hole’ between two of the front ones. But it is Marianne who suffers most: she is obliged to have two teeth extracted to make room for others to grow. ‘When her doom was fixed’ says Jane Austen, ‘Fanny Lizzy and I walked into the next room, where we heard each of the two sharp hasty Screams’. Fanny came off lightest, but even her ‘pretty teeth’ Mr Spence found fault with, ‘putting in gold and talking gravely’, moving Jane Austen to grave doubts about his motives. ‘He must be a Lover of Teeth & Money & Mischief to parade about Fanny’s’, she declares.”

It is some comfort that my dentist is not Mr. Spence!

I hope you have more wonderful things to do today! Things without pain. Tell me about them!

(I am watching Sense and Sensibility at this moment….Edward Ferrars……((((THUD))))

Oh, this is the last day for my contest. Enter before midnight!

Oh Oh, I almost forgot to invite you to the Wet Noodle Posse blog. We’re doing a whole year on writing and April is Conflict month. We have lots of guest bloggers in April, including Jo Beverley! And we’re giving away a signed copy of one of her books to one lucky commenter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 11 Replies