Britain was inwards an on-and-off state of war alongside French Republic for much of the 1790s. The British authorities borrowed heavily together with was brusk of funds. When Napoleon came to ability inwards 1799, the authorities nether Prime Minister William Pitt introduced a temporary income tax. Here's a description from the website of the British National Archives:
‘Certain duties upon income’ equally outlined inwards the Act of 1799 were to travel the (temporary) solution. It was a taxation to musical rhythm out Napoleon. Income taxation was to travel applied inwards Britain (but non Ireland) at a charge per unit of measurement of 10% on the full income of the taxpayer from all sources inwards a higher house £60, alongside reductions on income upward to £200. It was to travel paid inwards vi equal instalments from June 1799, alongside an expected supply of £10 1000000 inwards its laid out year. It genuinely realised less than £6 million, but the coin was vital together with a precedent had been set.
In 1802 Pitt resigned equally Prime Minister over the inquiry of the emancipation of Irish Gaelic catholics, together with was replaced past times Henry Addington. H5N1 short-lived peace treaty alongside Napoleon allowed Addington to repeal income tax. However, renewed fighting led to Addington’s 1803 Act which ready the blueprint for income taxation today. ...
Addington’s Act for a ‘contribution of the profits arising from property, professions, trades together with offices’ (the words ‘income tax’ were deliberately avoided) introduced 2 pregnant changes:
- Taxation at source - the Bank of England deducting income taxation when paying involvement to holders of gilts, for example
- The sectionalisation of income taxes into 5 ‘Schedules’ - H5N1 (income from dry reason together with buildings), B (farming profits), C (public annuities), D (self-employment together with other items non covered past times A, B, C or E) together with east (salaries, annuities together with pensions).
Although Addington’s charge per unit of measurement of taxation was one-half that of Pitt’s, the changes ensured that revenue to the Exchequer rose past times one-half together with the discover of taxpayers doubled. In 1806 the charge per unit of measurement returned to the master 10%.
Pitt inwards opposition had argued against Addington’s innovations: he adopted them almost unchanged, however, on his supply to component subdivision inwards 1805. Income taxation changed footling nether diverse Chancellors, contributing to the state of war endeavor upward to the Battle of Waterloo inwards 1815.Perhaps unsurprisingly, Britain's authorities was non enthusiastic close repealing the income taxation fifty-fifty afterwards the defeat of Napoleon. But at that topographic point was an uprising of taxpayers. The website of the Britain Parliament described it this way:
"The centrepiece of the displace was a petition from the City of London Corporation. In a slice of parliamentary theatre, the Sheriffs of London exercised their privilege to nowadays the petition from the City of London Corporation inwards person. They entered the Commons sleeping accommodation wearing their official robes holding the petition.
"The petition reflected the broad nature of the opposition to renewing the tax. Radicals had long complained that ordinary Britons (represented past times John Bull inwards caricatures) had borne the brunt of wartime taxation. Radicals argued that the taxes were used to fund 'Old Corruption', the parasitic network of dry reason officials who exploited an unrepresentative political organisation for their ain interests.
"However, the petitions inwards 1816 came from real dissimilar groups, including farmers, businessmen together with landowners, who were hard for the authorities to dismiss. Petitioners, such equally Durham farmers, claimed they had patriotically paid the taxation during wartime alongside 'patience together with cheerfulness', distancing themselves from radical critics of the government.
"In barely vi weeks, 379 petitions against renewing the taxation were sent to the House of Commons. MPs took the chance when presenting these petitions, to highlight the unpopularity of the taxation alongside their constituents together with the wider public. ... Ministers were defendant of breaking the hope made inwards 1799 when the taxation was introduced equally a temporary, wartime mensurate together with non equally a permanent tax. The depressed dry reason of manufacture together with agriculture was blamed on heavy taxation.
"The taxation was also presented equally a unusual together with un-British mensurate that allowed the dry reason to snoop into people's finances. As the City of London petition complained, it was an 'odious, arbitrary, together with detestable inquisition into the most private concerns together with circumstances of individuals'."
Also unsurprisingly, the repeal of the income taxation led the British authorities to enhance other taxes instead. The BBC writes: Forced to brand upward the shortfall inwards revenue, the Government increased indirect taxes, many of which, for instance taxes on tea, tobacco, saccharide together with beer, were paid past times the poor. Between 1811 together with 1815 straight taxes - dry reason tax, income tax, all assessed taxes - made upward 29% of all authorities revenue. Between 1831 together with 1835 it was simply 10%."
There's a storey that when Britain repealed its income taxation inwards 1816, Parliament ordered that the records of taxation travel destroyed, so posterity would never larn close it together with travel tempted to essay again. The BBC reports:
"Income taxation records were together with then supposedly incinerated inwards the Old Palace Yard at Westminster. Whether this bonfire genuinely took house nosotros can't say. Several historians who accept studied the current yell to the outcome equally a storey or legend that may accept been true. Perhaps the most convincing bear witness are reports that, inwards 1842, when Peel re-introduced income tax, albeit inwards a less contentious form, the records were no longer available. Another storey is that those burning the records were unaware of the fact that duplicates had been sent for safe-keeping to the King's Remembrancer. They were together with then position into sacks together with eventually surfaced inwards the Public Records Office."
But the income taxation returned to Britain inwards 1842, "to brand upward the revenue lost from tariffs equally Britain shifted towards a costless merchandise policy."
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