Taxation in the United Kingdom
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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.
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[edit] 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.
See IR20 - Residents and non-residents.
[edit] 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 (full list [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 from [2].
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.
[edit] 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).
[edit] 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 ([3]). 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.
[edit] 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") (see [4] for HM Revenue & Customs's Introduction to VAT).
[edit] 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% ([5]), 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%).
[edit] 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 [6]).
- 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.
[edit] Excise duties
Excise duties are charged on, amongst other things, motor fuel, alcohol, tobacco, betting and vehicles.
[edit] 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 [7].
[edit] Inheritance tax
Inheritance tax is levied on "transfers of value", meaning:
- the estates of deceased persons;
- gifts made within seven years of death (known as Potentially Exempt Transfers or "PETs");
- "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 [8]) 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).
[edit] 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.
[edit] See also
UK related
Local taxation
General category
- Tax haven
- Tax law
- Taxation in the United States
- Taxation in Canada
- Taxation in Germany
- Taxation in the Republic of Ireland
- Taxation in NZ
[edit] References
Taxation of Foreign Domiciliaries (James Kessler QC, 5th edition, 2005, Key Haven Publications) discusses taxation of individuals who are UK resident but not UK domiciled.
[edit] External links
- Guide to personal taxation, from UK government site Directgov
- Tax World, wide ranging UK tax portal
