Duties on Clocks and Watches Act In 1797, William Pitt, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, decided to enact a tax on clocks and watches. At the time, Parliament desperately needed to raise money to fund the Napoleonic Wars. In July of that year, Parliament passed the Duties on Clocks and Watches Act 1797 (38 Geo. II, c. 108), which decreed that heretofore there would be a tax on clocks and watches.[1] Gold watches were taxed 10 shillings, and watches made from other metals were taxed 2s, 6d. Clock- and watchmakers were also required to pay an annual licence fee, set at 2s 6d in London and 1s everywhere else in Britain. The Act almost crippled the entire clockmaking market. Within a year of its passing, the supply of clocks and watches halved, thousands were unemployed, and many skilled workers and artisans left the country. Less than year later, in April 1798, the Act was repealed. The Act was passed the same year that William Harrison made his silver-cased Watch with H4-type diamond pallets escapement, exhibited on Clocktime. End Note [1] Dowell 1888, 274–275. Reference Dowell, S. 1888. A History of Taxation and Taxes in England from the Earliest Times to the Year 1885. Volume III. Direct Taxes and Stamp Duties. London: Longmans, Green & Co. Image Credits William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) by Gainsborough Dupont; The Burrell Collection. Photo credit: Glasgow Life Museums; CC BY-NC-ND, http://www.artuk.org/artworks/william-pitt-the-younger-17591806-84043
