Stamp duty here in England is 0% on property up to £250,000. 5% on properties up to £650,000 and it goes up after that. It's a tax levied on property purchases. My Mum said she paid about a hundred quid when they bought a house in the early Eighties. It's obviously a rip off. Why should you have to pay the Government when you buy a house ?
Council tax is paid to your local authority and is meant to pay for services like the police, ambulance and fire. Also schools, rubbish collection, social care and keeping the place tidy. The amount you pay depends on the size of your property.
Myles, according to a quick Google, stamp duty first appeared in 1694 during the reign of William III & Mary II. Unfortunately you cannot punch them as small pox and pneumonia already did the job for you 330 years ago.
Raising money for yet
another war with France.
The attempt to levy it in America did ultimately lead to the Revolutionary War.