Uk 45's

[Diddy Morgan]

what does the k t stamp in the middle stand for , also they dont appear on all, btw .............diddy

[Jim G]

Here you go

Tax stamps: The letters KT which are often found on early pressings of British records is a tax stamp. This tax was a purchase tax that was imposed by the British government on the manufacturers of records, and was based on wholesale prices at a rate of 27 1/2% in 1967 (it was increased on March 20, 1968). The purchase tax was replaced by a value added tax (VAT) on March 31, 1973. The KT tax stamp can be found in the runoff grooves of singles, and in the center of the labels near the spindle hole on albums from 1967 and 1968. Beginning in 1969, tax stamps were no longer put on records. A record with a KT stamp indicates that the tax was paid.

Edited February 5, 2013 by jim g

[Simon T]

what does the k t stamp in the middle stand for , also they dont appear on all, btw .............diddy

Tax stamps: The letters KT which are often found on early pressings of British records is a tax stamp. This tax was a purchase tax that was imposed by the British government on the manufacturers of records, and was based on wholesale prices at a rate of 27 1/2% in 1967 (it was increased to 50% on March 20, 1968). The purchase tax was replaced by a value added tax (VAT) on March 31, 1973. The KT tax stamp can be found in the runoff grooves of singles from 1967 and 1968. A record with a KT stamp indicates that the tax was paid. Beginning in 1969, tax stamps were no longer put on records although the tax was still imposed.

from site:

https://pinkfloydarchives.com/DUK45NM.htm

Edited February 5, 2013 by simon t

[Diddy Morgan]

was'nt expecting that!!!

thanks lads

[Guest john s]

It's not quite that simple!

This is adapted from Peter Rice's website...

1939 saw the outbreak of World War Two. One year on, and the British Government could not foretell a conclusion to the conflict. Someone was going to have to pay for the draining resources, so it was decided to introduce a levy on "luxury goods" of which phonographic records would be included. Purchase Tax came into force, starting at a rate of 1/3 rd. This was added onto the wholesale price, which, obviously was passed on to the consumer via the retail price. So from October 1940, EMI, DECCA & PHILIPS Record Companies used a 2-letter Purchase Tax code. Each time the government changed the percentage rate, a different code was employed. EMI labels had theirs embossed adjacent to the center hole on one side of the disc. "T" was always used as the 2nd letter of the 2.

Starting 26 July 1961........................OT

Starting 10 April 1962........................ZT

Starting 26 November 1962................PT

Starting 1 January 1963...................MT

Starting 1 July 1963.........................KT

However, confusion can arise when:

1. There are no letters near the center - can usually be found within the run-off adjacent to label.

2. There are 3 letters! Within the actual changeover period during a revised tax rate, it was not effective to discard the recent pressing plates (stampers), so the new (1st) letter is added. Sometimes a Stamp with the updated code can be found adhered to the label or sleeve. The purpose of adding the new letter immediately, was so that retailers who returned unsold stock of records to the wholesaler, would be credited with the same amount of tax that as paid for said records!

and if you want a more detailed account (which also covers those elusive tax stamps)...

https://www.peterice.com/purchasetax.htm

[Chris L]

what does the k t stamp in the middle stand for , also they dont appear on all, btw .............diddy

Killer Track

[Carty]

john s, in awe of your incredible detailed response , always wondered about those stamps,how do you know this stuff ?