II.   Instruments & Transactions

A Duty is a formal Instrument issued under the Corporate Securities standards of instruments and writing first formed under the Westminster laws of Great Britain from the 17th Century by claiming an Ecclesiastical and Moral Right to ransom by seizing, or claiming custody of certain Rights, Property, Instruments, Goods and Uses that may not be transported, transferred or used unless the ransom (Duty) is paid and/or acts performed. All Duties are a form of extortion based on the ability to seize or control goods or blockade access.

The invention of Duty corresponds to the elaboration of claimed Ecclesiastical and Moral Rights of the Crown of England to force certain acts and has always relied upon the following seven elements:

(i) A Primary Ecclesiastical or Moral Right claimed by the Crown of England or Great Britain as expressed by the Statute or Act that introduces the particular type of Duty; and

(ii) A Duty and behaviour demanded of certain men and women subject to the claimed jurisdiction of the Crown as well as a list or table of prices or fees related to different acts/good/uses; and

(iii) A Master/Court Roll creating a list of types of Persons against whom the obligation to pay certain Duties is claimed; and

(iv) A Permit/License/Exemption Roll identifying the Persons who are excluded from Duty or who have paid and performed their Duties and so are permitted to proceed. This may or may not be information listed on the Master/Court Roll; and

(v) An Issue/Prohibition/Interdict Roll identifying Persons who are alleged to have committed an offence in not paying and performing their Duties. By tradition, this is a separate Roll; and

(vi) A Register of Goods, or Property being an additional book (or books) associated with certain goods or property associated with the Person on the Roll; and

(vii) A Commissioner and Agents (Privateers) commissioned by warrant or patent to go and hunt down those men and women associated with Persons alleged to have committed an offence, in exchange for a share and cut of the “prize money” when such people and their goods and property are forcibly seized and penalties extracted.

All forms of Duty are predicated on six fundamental principles:

(i) The profane and profoundly sacrilegious cursing and repudiation of Divine Law, sacredness, true sacred texts and spiritual history by false assertions as to the ecclesiastical and moral rights of a reign of tyrants, without any form of moral or spiritual mandate whatsoever, to make laws relating to spiritual and ecclesiastical and moral matters; and

(ii) The complete repudiation of the Golden Rule of Law (that all are equal before the law and none are above it), given all Statutes and acts of Duties since their invention have granted immunities and exemptions to certain individuals and groups to the prejudice of others; and

(iii) The complete false and unproven presumption of the power to create a Person associated to a Roll without the consent of the man or woman; or by using force, intimidation or trickery to extract some form of pseudo-consent; and

(iv) The unsubstantiated, fraudulent and unlawful claims of seizure, custody and withholding of Rights, Titles, Property and Uses of Persons except those who are deemed worthy, or have performed and paid the demanded Duties; and

(v) The wholly immoral and repugnant use of force, threat, intimidation and violence to demand the payment of such Duties and seize goods and people; and

(vi) The forced sale, liquidation, alienation, confiscation of Rights, Property, Uses of people, particularly the allowance of unreasonable and cruel fines and forfeitures beyond any original claimed Duty, with the proceeds of such immoral, unreasonable and cruel Fines shared as “prizes” with private mercenaries and pirates hired to enforce such piracy under letters of marque.

All forms of Duties may be classed as either Customs, Stamp or Income:

(i) Customs Duty is a ransom as effectively a toll that Merchants must pay to the crown for carrying out and bringing in merchandize as well as protection from pirates and robbers (often in history the same forces used to collect unpaid Duties); and

(ii) Stamp Duty is a tribute or toll paid against official instruments and court documents; and

(iii) Income Duty is a ransom and tribute paid against all forms of use of Rights and Property claimed to be held, owned, controlled or in custody of the Crown or appropriate tyrant.

In Respect of Customs Duty:

(i) The justification for such tributes and tolls of Customs was conceived from three false and morally repugnant arguments being (1) The King/Queen claims Interest in the Sea; and (2) The King/Queen is the guardian of the Ports which must be maintained; and (3) the King/Queen agrees to protect Merchants against Enemies and Pirates for a fee; and

(ii) The claim that Customs were first introduced under 14 Ed.3 c.21 in 1340 is a deliberate falsity as the concept to “custom goods” or transport or sell the goods in another man’s name was not invented in English law until 1509 (1Hen8. c.5); and

(iii) In 1509, King Henry VIII in the first year of his reign changed the law permitting “agents” of custom for the sale, transport and shipping of goods, thus opening up England to the Venetian and Pisan Merchants as well as the first simple duties (1Hen8. c.5); and

(iv) The first custom duties under Henry 8th from the 1520’s were in the importation of certain fine cloth and precious metals as well as the export of wool; and

(v) By the end of the 17th Century, duties had expanded to the importation and exportation of a wide variety of other commodities and in 1671, King Charles II established the Board of Customs to patrol and enforce the collection of Customs Duties from the official ports of the Island; and

(vi) During the nineteenth century, customs duties continued to be rationalised. The subordinate Boards in Edinburgh and Dublin were wound up in 1829 and transferred to London; and

(vii) In 1909, the Board of Customs was amalgamated with that of Excise by Order in Council and renamed the Board of Customs and Excise.

In Respect of Stamp Duty:

(i) The justification for such tributes and ransoms of Instruments and Documents was conceived from three false and morally repugnant arguments being (1) The King/Queen claims Interest in all Rights, Property, Trusts and Estates of the Kingdom and therefore all Instruments pertaining to such Rights, Property, Trusts and Estates; and (2) The King/Queen is the guardian of the Records of the Kingdom and of all Trusts and Estates which must be maintained accurately; and (3) the King/Queen agrees to protect all Subjects against Frauds, Thefts and Embezzlements by Criminals and Pirates for a fee; and

(ii) The first Stamp Duty Act was introduced in 1694 (6W&M.c.7) under King William and Queen Mary. (1) The first instructed it provided was (for example) that certain types of skin, vellum or parchment on which grants or letters patents under seal were to be issued, had to now have a “watermark” or “ingross” or amount written of forty shillings and for instruments used for fines or sentences of Admiralty, the amount of five shillings. (2) The second instruction was the appointment of commissioners who were then empowered to stamp or impress such ingrossed instruments as previously described (except grants or letters or ecclesiastical instruments) upon the collection of duties; and

(iii) In 1765, the concept of Stamp Duty was extended to the Colonies of America (5Geo3.c.12) but under Admiralty jurisdiction. The Stamp Duty act for America greatly increased the description and range of Instruments subject to Stamp Duty, especially a wide variety of licenses; and

(iv) In the same year of 1765 (5Geo3.c.46) , the nature of calculation of Stamp Duty was changed on the entries, minutes or memorandums made in the court books, rolls or records of corporations of companies, whereby instead of charging a flat rate per type of instrument, the value of the license or goods was the point of calculation for the Stamp Duty . The act also introduced the notion of penalties for delaying and non payment of Stamp Duty; and

(v) However, due to the resistance in the change of Stamp Duty from fixed to proportional, an additional act had to be introduced in 1767 (7Geo3.c.44) offering an incentive and discount for people who promptly paid Duty; and

(vi) In 1794 (34Geo3.c.32), Stamp Duties were extended to Bills of Exchange and Notes where the Commissioners of Stamp Duties were to stamp such instruments in addition to the original signature of the maker. Thus from this point forward, two signatures as well as an authorized Stamp were required on valid Bills of Exchange and Notes; and

(vi) In 1796 (36Geo3.c.111), an additional Stamp Duty was imposed on certain types of Deeds, but excluding certain indentures of apprenticeship or leases. The act made clear the claim that a Deed not properly stamped was no good.

(vii) In 1800 (39&40Geo3.c.84), an extraordinary act was introduced whereby in the matter of apprenteships and poor children and other poor or employed that ingrossed paper was not available, such ingrossing could occur after the fact of the Deed, or Indenture or Lease or Contract was signed and still considered valid. Thus, for the first time, poor persons or apprentices would be wholly unaware of the underlying value attached in terms of the Duty; and

(vii) In 1808 (48Geo3. c.149) a significant series of changes were undertaken to repeal Stamp Duties on Deeds, Law Proceedings and other written and printed Instruments given the previous act (39&40Geo3.c.84) which permitted such duties to be applied after the creation of such instruments and still be valid. A key new rule introduced was that Promissory Notes were not to be negotiable unless properly stamped. The act also introduced new rules restricting the granting the confirmation of any testament unless it be prepared also as an inventory and the proper stamp duties paid upon it; and

(viii) In 1813 (53Geo3. c.108), the concept of Promissory Notes of under two pounds and two shillings being able to be re-issued by any Person without having to pay Stamp Duty again was extended to the value of one hundred pounds but exclusively to the Bank of England, while promissory notes under two pounds and two shillings could continue to be issued; and

(ix) In 1815 (54Geo3. c.184), a similar strategy as 1808 (48Geo3. c.149) was adopted whereby the duties on additional deeds and policies associated with fire insurance, legacies and successions to person estates upon intestate presumptions appeared to be repealed, while the new duties could be effectively “hidden” from the party and applied after the document was signed and sealed; and

(x) In 1854 (17&18Vict.c.78) saw the introduction for the first time the invention of Admiralty Stamps known as Postage Stamps beyond “Penny Stamps” as a form of substitute to the physical impress or ingross of Postage stamps onto the instrument as proof of the payment of duty as well as Inland Revenue Stamps. Thereafter, revenue stamps or Admiralty (Postage) Stamps were required to be affixed to instruments to be valid for the payment of Duty; and

(xi) In 1891 (54&55Vict. c.38) and (54&55Vict. c.39) the procedures of Stamp Duty were dramatically streamlined, while retaining the rights for legal instruments to be stamped after being completed – thus hiding duties from plaintiffs or defendants.

In Respect of Income Duty:

(i) The justification for such tributes and ransoms of Income earned from Use of Rights and Property in Commerce was conceived from three false, profane, sacrilegious and morally repugnant arguments being (1) All Religious and Charitable Uses are properly exempt from Income Duties. However, Usury (commercial profit from Use) is a sin for all but the King/Queen and special “Strangers” who through claimed genealogies assert they are “born without original sin” and so may engage in Commerce; and (2) The King/Queen is the guardian of the Ecclesiastical and Moral Rights of the Kingdom and so is tasked (along with the special “Strangers”) with the enforcement of punishment against sinners and the spiritually, morally and financially insolvent; and (3) the King/Queen agrees to absolve those who have committed the sin of Usury (commercial profit from Use) by granting a license of Use providing a penalty is paid in surrendering a proportion of income; and

(ii) Contrary to false claims, the first act outlying duties on income was in 1798 (38Geo3.c.13) to be paid upon all income of every person, body politic, corporate, company, fraternity or society of persons residing in Great Britain, whether such income did arise from lands, tenements, or hereditements, or from any kind of personal property, profession, office, stipend, pension, employment, trade or vocation but excluding religious and charitable persons and certain others exempt from such duties. §42 of the act also made clear that the trustees, agents and receivers of Cestui Que Vie Trusts were exempt from declaring income from the trust as chargeable, providing they deliver the name of the person(s) on whose lives the CQV Trust was created who then became responsible for any Duty. The act made clear the appointment of private commissioners or “commercial commissioners” as agents for the collection of such duties then reporting back to the Tax Office. The act instituted the requirement for those on the Tax Roll to voluntarily provide a statement equivalent to a confession as to their income for the preceeding year; and

(iii) In the same year, (38Geo3.c.22) an act was passed to qualify certain elements of the original act including the lengthening of time for returns, deductions and further qualification on the treatment of trust income. A further act was passed (38Geo3.c.42) on the rules of appointment of private and “commercial commissioners” for the assessment and collection of Income Duties for a fee and percentage of the receipts; and

(iv) In 1799 (39Geo3.c.13), after the Duty on Income system failed to raise the expected revenue due to resistence, corrupt tax commissioners and general confusion, the system was largely “relaunched” with new rates (maximum rates around 10%). A further act repealed sections of the assessment process (39Geo3.c.22) under the revised rates and a third act “re-launched” the appointment of commercial commissioners (39Geo3.c.42); and

(v) In 1800 (39&40Geo3.c.49), further changes were instituted to rules and regulations of Income Duties, assessments and exemptions; and

(vi) In 1802 (42Geo3.c.42), all Duties on Income were repealed, except so far as those who had failed to pay the previous years of assessment, or Debtors (those in Default), who were to continue to be charged. Importantly, the act for the first time directed all revenues and accounting now to the control of the Bank of England, with the Commercial Commissioners now working for the Bank and such revenues being directly added to the Consolidated Fund for the payment of the National Debt, and not contributing to the general revenue of the kingdom; and

(vii) With the new arrangement of Income Duties being under the control of the Bank of England and the repeal of the old system, an act in 1803 (43Geo3.c.122) introduced a new system specifying certain property, professions, trades and offices subject to income duties (maximum rate of around 5%), while other property and persons were to be considered exempt. Schedule (A) of the act addressed duty in respect of Property; and Schedule (B) in respect of Occupiers; and Schedule (C) in respect of Profits from Investments or Companies; and (D) in respect of Profits from Personal Property; and (E) in respect of duties against Public Office or Employment for Profit; and

(viii) In 1804 (43Geo3.c.37), the sections in the income duties system under the control of the Bank of England so far as it related to charges on public annuities was repealed for the benefit of major corporations such as the South Seas Company and the East India Company as well as the Bank of England itself; and

(ix) In 1816 (56Geo3_c65), Income Duties were again repealed upon the conclusion of War (a year after the battle of Waterloo), except so far as those who had failed to pay the previous years of assessment, or Debtors (those in Default), who were to continue to be charged; and

(ix) In 1842 (5&6Vict.c.35), Income Duties as Property Taxes were introduced under the Peel administration and a streamlined set of assessments and procedures were introduced similar to the act of 1803 (A,B,C,D,E etc); and

(x) despite the unpopularity and unjust nature of Income Duties, the duties remained through to the 20th Century without major changes until 1965 saw corporations removed to a separate duty system.

While all governments have a right to seek revenue and contributions from their members, the extraordinary fraud and continued deception that represents the Western-Roman system of duties renders false any claim of validity ecclesiastically, morally, lawfully or legally. Instead, all Western-Roman systems of revenue based upon duties are null and void from the beginning.