Tax, medicines and the law from quackery to pharmacy

258 Pages·2018·23.885 MB·English

by  Stebbings, Chantal

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Tax, Medicines and the Law

In 1783 a stamp duty was imposed on proprietary or ‘quack’ medicines. These
often useless but sometimes dangerous remedies were immensely popular. The
tax, which lasted till 1941, was imposed to raise revenue. It failed in its inciden-
tal regulatory purpose, had a negative effect in that the stamp was perceived as a
guarantee of quality, and had a positive effect in encouraging disclosure of the
formula. The book explains the considerable impact the tax had on chemists and
druggists – how it led to an improvement in professional status, but undermined
it by reinforcing their reputations as traders. The legislation imposing the tax was
complex, ambiguous and never reformed. The tax authorities had to administer it,
and executive practice came to dominate it. A minor, specialised, low- yield tax is
shown to be of real significance in the pharmaceutical context, and of exceptional
importance as a model revealing the wider impact of tax law and administration.
Chantal Stebbings is Professor of Law and Legal History at the University of
Exeter. In the past she has served as Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University
of Exeter, Visiting Professor at the University of Rennes, France, a Fellow of the
Institute of Taxation and a General Commissioner of Income Tax. She has also
held a British Academy Research Readership and a Leverhulme Major Research
Fellowship. She was generously supported by the Wellcome Trust for this book,
which is her fourth monograph for Cambridge University Press. She is the editor
of the Journal of Legal History and the Chair of the Hamlyn Trust.
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Tax, Medicines and the Law

From Quackery to Pharmacy
CHANTAL STEBBINGS
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University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom
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Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.
It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of
education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107025455
DOI: 10.1017/9781139178990
© Chantal Stebbings 2018
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2018
Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Stebbings, Chantal, author.
Title: Tax, medicines and the law : from quackery to pharmacy / Chantal Stebbings.
Description: Cambridge; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017040365 | ISBN 9781107025455 (hbk)
Subjects: | MESH: Legislation, Drug – history | Taxes – history |
Pharmacy – history | Fiscal Policy – history | History, 18th Century |
History, 19th Century | United Kingdom
Classification: LCC RM41 | NLM QV 11 FA1 | DDC 615.109–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017040365
ISBN 978- 1- 107- 02545- 5 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs
for external or third- party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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For my husband,

Howard
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Contents

List of Figures page ix
Acknowledgements xi
Table of Statutes xiii
Table of Cases xv
1 Proprietary Medicines and the Fiscal State 1
Introduction 1
Financial Imperatives in Eighteenth- Century England 5
The Phenomenon of Quackery 15
The Taxation of Proprietary Medicines 24
The Financial Rationale for the Tax 33
Conclusion 40
2 The Medicine Stamp Duty and the Authority of Law 44
Introduction 44
The Administrative Machinery 45
Enforcement 48
Legislative Drafting 53
Revenue Practice 60
Statutory Interpretation by the Board 60
Extra- Statutory Concessions 72
Known, Admitted and Approved Remedies 73
Breaking Bulk 78
The Dispensing Concession 79
Reasons for Revenue Practice 81
The Authority of Law 85
Conclusion 90
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3 The Tax and the Profession of Pharmacy 94
Introduction 94
Chemists and Druggists in the Medicine Stamp
Duty Legislation 98
Professional Reactions to the Tax 101
Objections to the Principle of the Tax 101
Inaccessibility of the Law to the Profession 106
Objection to the Administration of the Tax by the
Central Boards 110
Objections to Methods of Enforcement 114
The Relationship with the Revenue Authorities 119
Tax and Professionalisation 124
Occupational Affirmation 124
Professional Unity 125
The Stigma of Commerce 136
Conclusion 140
4 The Tax and the Integrity of Medicines 144
Introduction 144
The Dangers of Proprietary Medicines 145
Regulatory Objectives 154
Regulatory Effects 164
Perceptions of Quality and Safety 166
The Government Laboratory 172
Disclosure 178
Conclusion 182
5 The Demise of the Tax 185
Introduction 185
The Abuse of Revenue Practice 186
The Question of Legality 191
The Road to Repeal 194
The Demise of the Tax 207
A Fiscal Nonentity or Revealing Paradigm? 214
Appendix 219
Index 235