[1] In the United States, the term was first used by the Continental Congress in 1786, being described as the "lowest money of account, of which 1000 shall be equal to the federal dollar".
Discount coupons, such as those for grocery items, usually include in their fine print a statement such as "Cash value less than 1⁄10 of 1 cent".
However, the term "mill" is still used when discussing billing in the electric power industry as shorthand for the lengthier "1⁄1000 of a dollar per kilowatt hour".
Municipalities determine annual mill rates based on budget needs for public services like education, infrastructure, healthcare, and law enforcement.
This calculation helps standardize property taxes while allowing flexibility to address specific financial needs in each locality.
Mill rates are subject to adjustment annually or periodically, depending on factors like government spending requirements, economic conditions, and shifts in property valuations, providing a fair and balanced approach to local tax funding.
The 1862 report from the Select committee on Weights and Measures[11] noted that the Equitable Insurance Company had been keeping accounts in mils (rather than in shillings and pence) for such purposes for over 100 years.
By the time British currency was decimalised in 1971, the farthing had been demonetised eleven years prior, in part due to having its value eroded by inflation; thus, the mil was no longer necessary.
Its successor currencies, the Israeli lira and the Jordanian dinar retained the 1⁄1000 division, respectively named the pruta and fils.
Between 1863 and 1866 the one mil coin was the lowest denomination issued by the British government in Hong Kong; it was eliminated due to its unpopularity.