Pray, lend your ears to a most whimsical turn of events in the realm of finance! It appears that the High Authority has seen fit to sign a decree that shall bring a sigh of relief to every trembling commercialist in the land. The law, now officially proclaimed, declares that those poor souls who failed to submit a 'zero' tax declaration shall no longer be hounded by fines.

Imagine, if you will, the scene: a bewildered merchant, a man of modest means—or perhaps a rogue of grander ambitions—staring at a blank ledger. Hitherto, for the crime of reporting that he had earned precisely nothing, the state demanded a payment! A paradox of the highest order! To be fined for the misfortune of poverty is a jest that would make even the most cynical clerk at the Exchange burst into laughter.

As the explanatory note reveals, more than half of all penalties were levied against these 'empty' declarations. The government, in a rare moment of lucidity, realised that the cost of employing a swarm of clerks to chase these pittance-sums exceeded the actual profit derived from the fines. Truly, the State discovered that it was spending ten shillings to recover a single farthing!

Furthermore, the decree graciously extends this mercy to those who forgot to report the sale or gifting of their estates. The gentlefolk may now transfer their manors without the dread of a bailiff knocking at the door for a missing piece of parchment.

For those industrious gentlemen who actually possess a profit—those lucky shareholders and merchants whose ledgers are heavy with gold—a 'simplified' procedure for late filing has been introduced, provided they have committed no other sins against the treasury.

This grand amnesty for the silent ledger shall enter into force one month after its publication. Thus, the commercialist may now sleep soundly, knowing that his silence, when his pockets are empty, is no longer a crime, but a legally protected state of grace.