Taxation in the United Kingdom

Taxation in the United Kingdom may involve payments to at least two different levels of government: local government and central government (HM Revenue & Customs). Local government is financed by grants from central government funds, business rates, council tax and increasingly from fees and charges such as those from on-street parking. Central government revenues are mainly income tax, national insurance contributions, value added tax, corporation tax and fuel duty.


Residence and domicile

UK source income is generally subject to UK taxation no matter the citizenship nor the place of residence of the individual nor the place of registration of the company.

For individuals this means the UK income tax liability of one who is neither resident nor ordinarily resident in the UK is limited to any tax deducted at source on UK income, together with tax on income from a trade or profession carried on through a permanent establishment in the UK and tax on rental income from UK real estate.

Individuals who are both resident and domiciled in the UK are additionally liable to taxation on their worldwide income and gains. For individuals resident but not domiciled in the UK, foreign income and gains are taxed on the remittance basis, that is to say, only income and gains remitted to the UK are taxed (for such people the UK is sometimes called a tax haven).

Domicile here is a term with a technical meaning. Very roughly (and this is a considerable simplification) an individual is domiciled in the UK if it is his or her permanent home.

A company is resident in the UK if it is UK-incorporated or if its central management and control are in the UK.

Double taxation of non-UK income and gains is avoided by a number of bilateral tax treaties.


Income tax

Income tax forms the bulk of revenues collected by the government. Each person has an income tax allowance, and income up to this amount in each tax year is free of tax for everyone. For 2006-07 the tax allowance for under 65s is £ 5,035.[1] Above this amount there are a number of tax bands - each taxed at a different rate:

Rate Dividend Income Savings Income Other Income Band
(above any personal allowance)
Starting rate 10% 10% 10% 0 - £2,150
Basic rate 10% 20% 22% £2,151 - £33,300
Higher rate 32.5% 40% 40% over £33,300

Figures for 2006-07.

Note that these rates only apply to income within that tax band. Thus in 2006/07 someone with an income of £7185 per year would only pay £215 in tax, as they pay nothing from their tax allowance and ten per-cent from the next £2150 of income.

Savings income (for instance, interest received from investments, and/or capital gains) is taxed at a lower rate of 20% (instead of 22%) within the basic rate band, and at 40% above it (over £33,300 in 2006-07).

Income from share dividends is taxed at 10% up to the basic rate limit (£33,300) and at 32.5% above that.

Broadly speaking, the taxpayer is entitled to apply these bands to their income in the order which produces the lowest liability, but with capital gains always being taxed as the top "slice". In practice this means that ordinary income will be taxed first, using the personal allowance and starting rate, interest income second, dividends third, with capital gains being taxed last as the highest "slice" of income.


The tax year

The Tax Year in the UK, which applies to income tax and other personal taxes, runs from 6 April in one year to 5 April the next (for income tax purposes). Hence the 2005-06 tax year runs from 6 April 2005 to 5 April 2006.

The odd dates are due to events in the mid-18th century. The English quarter days are traditionally used as the dates for collecting rents (on, for example, agricultural properties). The tax system was also based on a tax year ending on Lady Day (March 25). When the Gregorian calendar was adopted in the UK in September 1752 in place of the Julian calendar, the two were out of step by 11 days. However, it was felt unacceptable for the tax authorities to lose out on 11 days' tax revenues, so the start of the tax year was moved, firstly to 5 April and then, in 1800, to 6 April.

The Fiscal Year, used mainly for corporation tax purposes, runs from 1 April to 31 March (hence Fiscal Year 2005 runs from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006).


History

The income tax was first implemented in Britain by William Pitt the Younger in his budget of December 1798 to pay for weapons and equipment in preparation for the Napoleonic wars. Pitt's new graduated income tax began at a levy of 2d in the pound (0.8333%) on incomes over £60 and increased up to a maximum of 2s (10%) on incomes of over £200. Pitt hoped that the new income tax would raise £10 million, but actual receipts for 1799 totalled just over £6 million.[2]

Income tax was levied under five schedules—income not falling within those schedules was not taxed. The schedules were:

* Schedule A (tax on income from UK land)
* Schedule B (tax on commercial occupation of land)
* Schedule C (tax on income from public securities)
* Schedule D (tax on trading income, income from professions and vocations, interest, overseas income and casual income)
* Schedule E (tax on employment income)

Later a sixth Schedule, Schedule F (tax on UK dividend income) was added.

Pitt's income tax was levied from 1799 to 1802, when it was abolished by Henry Addington during the Peace of Amiens. Addington had taken over as prime minister in 1801, after Pitt's resignation over Catholic Emancipation. The income tax was reintroduced by Addington in 1803 when hostilities recommenced, but it was again abolished in 1816, one year after the Battle of Waterloo. The UK income tax was reintroduced by Sir Robert Peel in the Income Tax Act 1842. Peel, as a Conservative, had opposed income tax in the 1841 general election, but a growing budget deficit required a new source of funds. The new income tax, based on Addington's model, was imposed on incomes above £150.

UK income tax has changed over the years. Originally it taxed a person's income regardless of who was beneficially entitled to that income, but now a person only owes tax on income to which he or she is beneficially entitled. Most companies were taken out of the income tax net in 1965 when corporation tax was introduced. Also the Schedules under which tax is levied have changed. Schedule B was abolished in 1988, Schedule C in 1996 and Schedule E in 2003, though the Schedular system and Schedules A, D and F still remain. The highest rate peaked in the Second World War at 99.25% and remained at about 95% till the late 1970s.

The Finance Act 2004 introduced an income tax regime known as "pre-owned asset tax" which aims to reduce the use of common methods of inheritance tax avoidance.


National Insurance contributions

The second largest source of government revenues is National Insurance contributions (NIC), payable by employees, employers and the self-employed. Unlike income tax, Class 1 (non self-employed persons) NIC is paid between lower and upper thresholds, or between £82 and £630 per week for 2005-06.[4] A zero rate of NIC applies to earnings between the lower earnings limit of £82 per week and the earnings threshold of £94 per week (in 2005-06) to protect employees' contributory benefit entitlements. National Insurance is levied at 11% (that is, 11p in the £), but can be contracted-out for persons with a qualifying pension scheme with a reduction of 1.6%. There has also been the addition of a 1% rate on income above the upper threshold in recent years. Employers pay an additional 12.8% on earnings over the lower earnings threshold (£94 per week), but without the upper threshold, so total earnings are taxed at 12.8% per employee.

Employers are additionally liable to Class 1A NIC at 12.8% on most benefits-in-kind provided to employees which are subject to income tax in the hands of the employee, and to Class 1B NIC (also at 12.8%) on the value of the tax and on certain benefits paid via a "PAYE Settlement Agreement".

There are also separate arrangements for self-employed persons (who are normally liable to Class 2 flat rate NIC and Class 4 earnings-related NIC), married women, and voluntary sector workers.


Value added tax

The third largest source of government revenues is value added tax (VAT), charged at the standard rate of 17.5% on supplies of goods and services. It is therefore a tax on consumer expenditure. Certain goods and services are exempt from VAT, and others are subject to VAT at a lower rate of 5% (the reduced rate) or 0% ("zero-rated").


Corporation tax

The fourth largest source of government revenues is corporation tax, charged on the profits and chargeable gains of companies. The main rate is 30%, which is levied on taxable income above £1.5m. In 2005-06, income below this level was taxed at 0% and 19%, but with marginal reliefs in between the bands. The 0% starting rate has been abolished with effect from 1 April 2006.

There is also a Supplementary charge to Corporation Tax for companies involved in petroleum exploration (for example in the North Sea) which is levied at a rate of 20% for profits arising from 1 January 2006 (previously the rate was 10%).


Capital gains tax

Capital gains are subject to tax at the marginal rate of income tax (for individuals) or of corporation tax (for companies).

Capital gains for individuals are taxed slightly differently from those for companies:

* The basic calculation for individuals (in very broad terms) is proceeds less cost; the gain is then subjected to taper relief (a percentage reduction which varies depending on how long the asset was held prior to its disposal, and whether the asset was a "business" asset or a "non-business" asset in the hands of the owner). Individuals also have a capital gains tax free amount or "annual exemption" (in 2005-06 this was £8,500, and in 2006-07 it is £8,880).[7]

* For companies, the chargeable gain is calculated (again, in very broad terms) as proceeds less cost; however, instead of taper relief, companies are entitled to indexation allowance, which is calculated with reference to movements in the retail prices index (individuals are also entitled to indexation allowance prior to April 1998). Companies are not entitled to any annual exemption.



Excise duties

Excise duties are charged on, amongst other things, motor fuel, alcohol, tobacco, betting and vehicles.


Stamp duty

Stamp duty is charged on the transfer of shares and certain securities at a rate of 0.5%. Modernised versions of stamp duty, stamp duty land tax and stamp duty reserve tax, are charged respectively on the transfer of real estate and shares and securities, at rates of up to 4% and 0.5% respectively.


Inheritance tax

Inheritance tax is levied on "transfers of value", meaning:

1. the estates of deceased persons;
2. gifts made within seven years of death (known as Potentially Exempt Transfers or "PETs");
3. "lifetime chargeable transfers", meaning transfers into certain types of trust. See Taxation of trusts (United Kingdom). Legislation announced in the 2006 budget but not yet enacted will extend this category to many more trusts than previously.

The first slice of cumulative transfers of value (known as the "nil rate band") is free of tax. This threshold is currently set at £285,000 (tax year 2006-07)[9] and, although it is raised annually, it has recently failed to keep up with house price inflation with the result that some 6 million households currently fall within the scope of inheritance tax. Over this threshold the rate is 40% on death. Any inheritance tax must be paid by the executors or administrators of the estate (the burden falling upon the beneficiaries) before probate is granted.

Transfers of value between UK-domiciled spouses are exempt from tax.

Gifts made more than seven years prior to death are not taxed; if they are made between three and seven years before death a tapered inheritance tax rate applies. There are some important exceptions to this treatment: the most important is the "reservation of benefit rule", which says that a gift is ineffective for inheritance tax purposes if the giver benefits from the asset in any way after the gift (for example, by gifting a house but continuing to live in it).


Motoring taxation

Motoring taxes include: fuel duty (which itself also attracts VAT), vehicle excise duty, the London congestion charge and various statutory fees including that for the compulsory vehicle test and that for vehicle registration.

__________________
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