Catalogue description Land Tax Redemption Office: Enrolment Books of Deeds and Assignments

Under sections 19 and 20 of 38 Geo. III c. 60 (and confirmed and amended by a series of subsequent acts), "all Bodies Politick or Corporate, and Trustees for charitable and other publick purposes" (including ecclesiastical bodies, organizations and officials) were authorized to sell as much of their property (which could as well be a rent or a mortgage as a piece of land) as was necessary to redeem or exonerate all their land tax liabilities. The deeds of sale were witnessed by two Land Tax Commissioners for the appropriate district (by 1 and 2 Vict. c.58 these powers were transferred to the Lords of the Treasury), and enrolled at Westminster within six months. The money was then paid into the Bank of England into the account of the Lords Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt. The arrangements were discontinued as a result of 47 and 48 Vict. c. 62.

In order to encourage the rapid accumulation of revenue from land tax, it was permitted for an owner of property or income on which land tax was liable, or, if the owner could not or would not for, a private person or group of people (often solicitors), to redeem but not exonerate their land tax. Under this arrangement the Government received the money just as if the land tax had been exonerated, but undertook to continue collecting the tax and to pay it to the redemptioner. Thus in effect, private people took over the Government's debts.

The right to be paid redeemed but not exonerated land tax could be transferred from person to person at will, so long as the Government were kept informed as to whom the tax was payable. These arrangements were repealed by 42 Geo. III c. 51.