Forvik, population 1, declares independence

Yahoo! reports: [edited]

The owner of a tiny island in off Scotland has declared its independence from the United Kingdom, saying he wanted the territory, population one, to be a crown dependency like the Channel Islands.

In a declaration on his Web site, Stuart Hill, who owns the 2.5 acre island of Forvik in the Shetland Islands in the North Sea, said he no longer recognised the authority of the government or the European Union, and cited a centuries-old royal marriage dowry deal as the basis for his claim.

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, print his own stamps and raise his own flag.

"There will be no income tax, VAT, council tax, corporation tax, or any of the other taxes instituted by the British government," Hill wrote.
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