THE BNAPS TECHNICAL REFERENCE SERIES - Revenues
An Introduction to Canadian Revenue Stamps
by Christopher D. Ryan
©2002 C.D. RyanRevenue stamps can be divided into three categories as follows:
tax stamps fee stamps credit stamps Tax stamps are defined by the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) as "issued for the payment of, or noting matters relating to, the payment of or exemption from a tax, levy or other fiscal imposition or duty." Examples of Canadian tax stamps include bill, excise, hospital aid and transfer tax stamps. Fee stamps are defined in FIP regulations as stamps whose purpose "is to record payment of or exemption from a fee for which some service is to be or has been rendered." In Canada, fee stamps include search fee, gas inspection and electrical inspection stamps. In some instances, the line between a 'fee' and a 'tax' was somewhat blurred when supposed 'fees' were increased to amounts beyond that required for the simple maintenance of the service. Furthermore, some stamps were used for the payment of both taxes and fees. The third FIP category of revenue stamp, credit stamps, were used " to denote some monetary or fiscal credit in favour of the purchaser his principal or assignee." Canadian credit stamps include unemployment insurance and vacation pay stamps.
The key characteristics held in common by all Canadian revenue stamps are that they were issued by governmental authorities (municipal, regional, provincial or federal) and that their use was mandated by legislation, bylaw, order, decree or regulation. Government authorities include ministries, departments, agencies, commissions, and boards of all types. Stamps issued by private or publicly held companies are not revenue stamps, though some, such as telegraph franks and private savings stamps, are collected by revenue stamp collectors. These company stamps have the same relation to revenue stamps as private courier stamps have to postage stamps. In addition, an argument can be made that even government-issued savings stamps are not revenue stamps since no one was compelled by law to purchase them.
Canadian revenue stamps exist in several different forms as follows:
adhesive embossed imprinted metered a ticket Adhesive revenue stamps are standard square, rectangular or strip stamps, issued with or without gum, that are affixed to a document or object. These stamps may have been issued imperforated, perforated, rouletted or die-cut. Embossed stamps were impressed upon papers by a security printing company by means of a die. Imprinted stamps are usually found typographed or lithographed on paper or cardboard as part of the printed design or text. Occasionally, a rubber-stamp was used to add a tax-paid impression to an existing item. Metered revenue stamps resemble postage meters. With meters, an inked 'paid' mark was added to a document and the amount debited against a prepaid credit on the machine. Ticket revenue stamps were (and continued to be) sold intact, then torn or otherwise mutilated upon the entry of the taxpayer to a venue to which a tax or fee applied.
For the most part, revenue stamps in Canada have been superceded by more efficient means of collection or by other forms of taxation. Two notable exceptions to this situation are the recently introduced airport departure fee tickets and municipal garbage tags.
[Please click the links to see examples]
All images provided by Christopher Ryan, except those marked * (Bob Lane) and ** (Fritz Angst)
Types of Canadian Revenue Stamps and Related Items: (This list is not comprehensive.)
Airport Departure Fee: example Numerous local airport authorities have introduced departure fees for passengers of commercial airlines. These fees are usually known as "airport improvement fees". In many instances, the departure fee is collected as part of an airline's passage ticket. However, a number of authorities have used special tickets as means of collection. These tickets must be purchased in advance by departing airline passengers and presented to security or other airport personnel prior to boarding the airplane. The tickets are cancelled by the removal of a rouletted stub.
Amusement Tax: example Provincial amusement tax tickets were used to collect taxes on patrons of entertainments such as theatres, cinemas, concerts, races and sporting events. The tickets were typically torn or otherwise destroyed upon the entry of the patron to the premises.
Assurance License: example (document) stamps on back of document Quebec's assurance license stamps were used to collect a tax on insurance policies in that province.
Bill: example Bill stamps were used to pay a tax on promissory notes and bills of exchange from 1864 through 1882. Cheques were exempt from this tax.
Chomage / Unemployment: Quebec's chomage / unemployment stamps were affixed to wrappers that enclosed bottles of liquor. The monies raised by this tax were designated for the relief of unemployed individuals.
Consular Fee: document stamps Consular fee stamps were used abroad at Canadian embassies, consulates, missions and other offices where varying levels of consular services were provided. These services included the following items: letters to foreign authorities, identity and travel papers, verification of signatures, attestation of documents, administration of oaths, translation of documents, issuance of various certificates and administration of estates.
Customs Duty: document stamp Federal customs duty stamps were used by foreign publishers and advertisers to prepay the customs duty on periodicals and printed advertising matter entering Canada. During the period of 1940 to 1945, these stamps were also used to prepay an excise tax, the War Exchange Tax, on the same periodicals and printed advertising matter.
Prior to its 1949 entry into Confederation, Newfoundland issued similar stamps for its own duty on foreign printed advertising matter.
Education Tax: An official name for Saskatchewan's retail sales tax. See Sales Tax below.
Electric Light or Electricity Inspection: document stamps
Electric light or electricity inspection stamps were affixed to certificates by federal government inspectors as receipts for fees paid by the public for the verification of the supply voltage and of the meters used to measure electrical consumption.
The inspection of electrical installations (wiring, outlets, service entrances, motors, transformers, et cetera) was the responsibility of municipal and/or provincial authorities. Some of these authorities issued their own revenue stamps. (See Saskatchewan Power Commission below.)
Excise and War Tax: document stamps While the war and excise tax stamps issued by the federal Revenue Department have been traditionally catalogued as separate varieties, these issues are really all one and the same type of revenue stamp. The variations in the inscription were a result of the period in which the basic, unsurcharged stamp was issued. The chronology of the inscriptions is as follows:
1915
1915 - 1919
1920 - 1921
1922
1923 - 1953War Tax (provisional overprint on postage stamps)
Inland Revenue / War Tax
Inland Revenue / Excise Tax
Customs and Excise / Excise Tax
Excise / AcciseAll of these stamps, regardless of their inscription, were used to collect some of the taxes imposed under the Special War Revenue Act., which was later renamed the Excise Tax Act. All but one of these stamp taxes were repealed or converted to a non-stamp tax in or before 1953.
Excise Duty - Tobacco Products and Malt Syrup: example-1 example-2* Federal excise duty stamps pre-date the excise/war tax stamps by fifty-one years and are distinct from the latter. They represented "duties" levied under a federal statute that was known at various times as either the Excise Act or the Inland Revenue Act. Goods subject to stamp duties under this statute were tobacco products (1864-1974) and malt syrup (1934-1948).
During the 1940s, tobacco excise duty stamps were surcharged with an excise tax that was newly imposed under the Special War Revenue Act. This practice was largely discontinued in 1947 when the excise tax on tobacco products was converted from a stamp-tax to a manufacturers-tax based on reported sales. The exceptions to this discontinuation were the stamps used on raw leaf sold at retail for consumption.
The provinces have also collected taxes on tobacco products. A few of these levies were collected by means of revenue stamps, most significantly Newfoundland's pre-1949 excise. See Tobacco Tax below for other provincial stamps taxes on tobacco products.
Garbage Tags: example, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, NWT, Yukon, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, New Brunswick As an incentive to residents to reduce the amount of garbage produced, many municipal and regional governments have recently introduced (1990s) a collection fee per bag or other approved container. In general, a fixed number of bags or other containers of garbage are collected free of charge with any excess required to be affixed with a tag in payment of the prescribed collection fee. These garbage tags usually take the form of a self-adhesive strip or decal and must be purchased in advance from a government office or other authorized vendor.
The application of the collection fee varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some localities require a tag on all garbage. Some localities have special tags for higher fees charged on large items and other special disposals such as vehicle tires and devices containing ozone-depleting refrigerants. Recyclable materials that are properly separated and sorted are typically exempt from a collection fee.
Gas Inspection: document stamps Gas inspection stamps were affixed to certificates by federal government inspectors as receipts for fees paid by the public for the verification of gas quality and the accuracy of the meters used to measure its consumption. 'Gas' included substances such as natural gas and propane, but not gasoline whose pumps were verified by federal inspectors of Weights and Measures. (See below.)
Gasoline Tax: example Ontario's gasoline tax stamps were used at individual gasoline retailers whose supplier had declined to collect and remit the tax on their bulk sales.
Health Tax: See Tobacco Tax below.
Hospital Aid: British Columbia's hospital aid stamps were affixed to receipts in payment of a tax on meals sold at restaurants and other venues.
Hospital Tax: An official name for Nova Scotia's retail sales tax. See Sales Tax below.
Hunting and Fishing: hunting* inside* Fishing and hunting revenue stamps were used to collect fees levied for the respective licences. For hunting, a generic paper licence was generally used to which one or more stamps were affixed, each representing a different species. In this way, a single licence served many different purposes at once. The wildlife conservation stamps issued by the federal government are revenue stamps. The conservation stamps issued by provincially-based organizations, such as wildlife societies and fish and game associations, are not revenue stamps. These particular stamps are charity stamps, sold for fund-raising purposes and have no franking value.
Inland Revenue: bill of exchange stamps on back of the bill Newfoundland's inland revenue stamps were general purpose stamps that paid various taxes and fees imposed on a wide variety of documents.
Law: document law stamp Law stamps were typically, but not exclusively, used for the payment of fees and/or taxes imposed on documents associated with civil judicial proceedings. The funds from these stamps were often designated for the support of the court system.
There were several exceptions to the usual purpose of law stamps. One such exception occurred in Quebec where for a period of time law stamps were required on documents recorded at registry offices in addition to registration stamps. Another exception occurred in Ontario where law stamps were used to pay the fee for searches in land titles offices. In other provinces, such as Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia, separate search-fee stamps or tickets were used.
Liquor - Federal: example While they are widely collected by revenue stamp collectors, the federal liquor strip-stamps are not revenue stamps. These items represent neither the payment of nor the exemption from the excise duty on liquor. The duty on liquor was payable upon removal of the bulk containers (barrels, casks et cetera) from excise bond. Beginning in 1883, liquor manufacturers were given permission by the Revenue Department to bottle their products while still in excise bond. The liquor strip-stamps were used to seal the bottles since they remained in bond until removed for consumption and the duty paid. The rules for the use of the stamps varied over time, but it suffices to say here that they were mandatory for some products, optional for others and forbidden for still others. In the eyes of the manufacturers the net purpose of the stamps was to vouch for the legitimacy and aging of their products.
Luxury Tax: example Ontario's luxury tax stamps were affixed to bottles of carbonated drinks or domestic wines, or to invoices, in payment of a tax levied on such beverages at the retail level. Beer was also taxable, but stamps were not used.
Malt Syrup: See Excise Duty above.
Postal Note and Scrip: postal note postal money order Large paper postal notes, which resembled money orders, were once sold at Canadian post offices for the purpose of sending small amounts of money through the mail. They complemented postal money orders, which were used for larger remittances. Postal note stamps were initially affixed to denominated postal notes to raise their value. Following the discontinuation of the denominated postal notes, the stamps were affixed to postal money orders to make up the cent amounts. For a time, the stamps were also sold loose to the public for the postal transmission of very small remittances. The change in the stamps' inscription from "note" to "scrip" occurred in the 1950s.
Registration: document stamps Quebec's registration stamps were used to pay fees and/or taxes imposed on agreements, contracts, deeds, conveyances and other legal documents that under provincial law had to be recorded at a local registry office.
Sales Tax: example Unlike provincial amusement tax-tickets, retail sales tax-tickets bearing various official names for the levies were not revenue stamps. These items were merely accounting aids for retailers. As far as governments were concerned, these tickets had no monetary value whatsoever with regards to payment of retail sales taxes.
Saskatchewan Power Commission: document stamps In Saskatchewan, revenue stamps were used first in the City of Saskatoon, then throughout the Province, for the payment of fees levied on the inspection of wiring and other electrical installations such as service entrances, motors and transformers. Initially, the stamps were affixed by electricians or contractors to official work-reports that were submitted to the responsible government body. Later, payments of the fees were made in cash and the stamps were affixed within the provincial government office.
The verification of the supply voltage and of the meters used to measure electrical consumption was the responsibility of the federal government, who issued its own revenue stamps for this service. (See Electric Light or Electricity Inspection above.)
Saskatoon Electric Department: See Saskatchewan Power Commission.
Search Fee: Provincial search fee stamps or tickets were used to pay fees charged for searches of public records such as land titles.
Social Security and Municipal Aid Tax: An official name for British Columbia's retail sales tax. See Sales Tax above.
Social Service and Educational Tax: An official name for New Brunswick's retail sales tax. See Sales Tax above.
Social Services Tax: An official name for British Columbia's retail sales tax. See Sales Tax above.
Telegraph Franks: Other that those issued by the government-owned Canadian National Telegraphs, telegraph franks were private issues. These franks were used by selected individuals to permit the free transmission of their messages on the lines of the respective company.
Telephone Franks: Telephone franks were of two types: government and private. These stamps were used to prepay telephone charges.
Tobacco Tax: During the 1940s, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island used stamps to collect a tax on retail sales of tobacco products. The funds were designated for health purposes. For federal and Newfoundland tobacco stamps see Excise Duty.
Transfer Tax: document stamps Ontario and Quebec transfer tax stamps were used to pay a tax on the transfer of stocks and bonds that occurred off recognized stock exchanges. In later years, this tax was frequently paid in cash and the use of the stamps was limited to private companies. For transfers made on a recognized exchange, the tax was paid to the exchange who forwarded the funds to the government.
Transportation Tax: Newfoundland's transportation tax stamps paid a levy on ship tickets for passage out of the province.
Ultimate Purchaser's Tax: The official name for Alberta's short-lived retail sales tax. See Sales Tax above.
Unemployment Insurance: cover* interior-1* interior-2* Federal unemployment insurance stamps were sold to employers to be affixed to employees' cards or booklets in payment of premiums levied upon the employers.
Vacation Pay: cover interior Provincial vacation pay credit stamps were sold to employers to be affixed to booklets held by seasonal, transient, temporary and other short-term employees in payment of monies owed to those employees in place of paid vacation time.
War Savings or Thrift Stamps: document stamps Federal thrift or war savings stamps were purchased by the public as a means of accumulating small savings in multiples of 25-cents. When a sufficient quantity had been acquired, the purchaser could then exchange the stamps for an interest-bearing stamp (1919 only) or a certificate. During the 1940s, Newfoundland, as an independent country, operated a similar scheme using 10-cent stamps.
Weights and Measures: document stamps Weights and measures inspection stamps were affixed to certificates by federal government inspectors as receipts for fees paid by the public for the verification of weights, measures and measuring devices used for trade purposes.
Return to Technical Reference Series Index
Return to Main Index
