Exchequer: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|TheUK government accounting process of central government}}

In the [[Civil Service (United Kingdom)|civil service]] of the [[United Kingdom]], '''His Majesty’sMajesty's Exchequer''',<ref name="InterpretationAct1978" /> or just the '''Exchequer''', is the [[accounting]] process of central government and the government's ''[[Transaction account|current account]]'' (i.e., money held from [[taxation]] and other government [[revenue]]s) in the [[Consolidated Fund]].<ref name="EFPA1950" /> ItThe canterm be foundis used in various financial documents, including the latest departmental and agency annual accounts.<ref name="RPAAccounts201516" /><ref name="DEFRAAccounts201516" /><ref name="DFEAccounts201415" /><ref name="ScotAccounts201415" />

ItHistorically, it was the name of a [[British government departments|British government department]]<ref name="EADA1866" /> responsible for the collection and the management of taxes and revenues; of, making payments on behalf of the sovereign, and auditing official accounts. It also developed a judicial role along with its [[accountancy]] responsibilities and tried legal cases relating to revenue.<ref name="Bryson" />

The Exchequer was named after a table used to perform calculations for taxes and goods in the medieval period.<ref>{{cite book | last = Noble | first = Thomas | title = The foundations of Western civilization | publisher = Teaching Co | location = Chantilly, VA | year = 2002 | chapter = 36 | isbn = 978-1565856370 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/foundationsofwes04nobl}}</ref> According to the ''[[Dialogus de Scaccario]]'' ('Dialogue concerning the Exchequer'),<ref name="Dialogue concerning the Exchequer" /> an early [[medieval]] work describing the practice of the Exchequer, the table was large, 10 feet by 5 feet with a raised edge or "lip" on all sides of about the height of four fingers to ensure that nothing fell off it, upon which [[Jeton|counters]] were placed representing various values. The name Exchequer referred to the resemblance of the table to a [[chess]] board (French: ''échiquier'') as it was covered by a black cloth bearing green stripes of about the breadth of a human hand, in a [[check (pattern)|chequer-pattern]]. The spaces represented pounds, shillings and pence.<ref name="Dialogue concerning the Exchequer">[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/excheq1.html King John of England: Royal Licenses to Export and Import, 1205–1206 Dialogue concerning the Exchequer] Internet Medieval Sourcebook publ by Fordham University, New York. Source: Joseph Hunter, ed., Rotuli Selecti, (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1834), pp. 4–5, 11; reprinted in Roy C. Cave & Herbert H. Coulson, A Source Book for Medieval Economic History, (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., 1936; reprint ed., New York: Biblo & Tannen, 1965), p.412</ref>

The term "''Exchequer"'' then came to refer to the twice -yearly meetings held at [[Easter]] and [[Michaelmas]], at which government financial business was transacted and an audit held of [[sheriff]]s' returns.

It is unknown exactly when the Exchequer was established, but the earliest mention appears in a royal writ of 1110 during the reign of King [[Henry I of England|Henry I]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Charles|last1=Johnson|first2=H. A.|last2=Cronne|year=1956|title=Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum 1066–1154|volume=II|at=961}}</ref> The oldest surviving [[Pipe Roll]] is that of 1130 (already in mature form, indicating that such records were createdexisted for some time beforehand, though they do not survive).<ref name="Bartlett" />{{rp|p.159}}<ref>Chrimes ''Administrative History'' pp. 62–63</ref> Pipe Rolls form a mostly continuous record of royal revenues and taxation; however, not all revenue went into the Exchequer, and some taxes and levies were never recorded in the Pipe Rolls.<ref name="Dict219" />{{rp|p.219}}

In the 19th century, a number of reforms reduced the role of the Exchequer, with some functions moved to other departments. The Exchequer became unnecessary as a revenue collecting department in 1834 with the reforms of Prime Minister [[William Pitt the Younger|William Pitt]], who also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The government departments collecting revenue thanthen paid it directly to the [[Bank of England]], with all money previously paid to the Exchequer being credited to the [[Consolidated Fund]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/31-32/9/section/1|title= Exchequer Extra Receipts Act 1868|publisher=UK Government|website= legislation.gov.uk|page=Section 1|access-date=15 November 2016}}</ref>

* [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_123/123_439_452.pdf Murray, Athol L, Burnett, Charles J., ''The seals of the Exchequer of Scotland''. Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. 123 (1993) 439–52] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923083450/http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_123/123_439_452.pdf |date=23 September 2009 }}