A 65-year-old man who owns a 2.5 acre island in the Shetland Islands in the North Sea has declared independence from the UK.
[Stuart] Hill, 65, has lived in the Shetland Islands on the edge of the Atlantic since 2001, when his boat capsized there during an unsuccessful attempted to circumnavigate Britain.
He is Forvik’s only resident, and his home is a tent on the storm-battered island. He says on his website that he plans to create Forvik’s own currency — the “gulde” — print his own stamps and raise his own flag.
“There will be no income tax, VAT (value added tax), council tax, corporation tax, or any of the other taxes instituted by the British government,” Hill wrote.