You are paying much more in tax than you think you are
What Everyone Needs to Know About Tax takes an entertaining and informative look at the UK tax system in all its glory to show you just how much you pay, how the money is collected and how it affects ordinary people every day. Giving context to recent controversies including the Panama Papers, tax avoidance by multinationals, Brexit and more, this book provides a straightforward explanation of tax and the policy behind it for non-specialists — no accounting or legal knowledge is required. The system’s underlying logic is illustrated through three ‘golden rules’ that explain many of the UK tax regime’s oddities, and the discussion focuses on the way things are rather than utopian ideas about how they might be. Case studies show how the VAT on a plumber’s bill all adds up; why fraudsters made a movie to throw HMRC off their scent; how a wealthy couple can pay so little tax on a six-figure income; and the way tracing the money you paid for your i Pad sheds light why the EU is demanding Apple pay billions extra in tax.
Ever the political battlefield, tax is too important for you to rely on media hype for information. It affects everyone, every day, and it pays for voters and taxpayers to know more. This book leaves aside technical detail and the arcana of the tax code to give you a real-world look at how tax works.
* Learn about the many ways that the tax system separates us from our money
* Discover how Brexit could change the way we pay taxes
* Understand how changing tax policy affects people’s everyday lives
* See through the rhetoric surrounding controversies in the media
With tax, we have to admit that there are no easy answers. No one enjoys paying them, but without them, the Government would shut down. Seeing through politicians’ cant and superficial press coverage is critical for your ability to make the decisions that benefit you; What Everyone Needs to Know About Tax gives you the background and foundational knowledge you need to be a well-informed taxpayer.
İçerik tablosu
About the author xi
Introduction xiii
1 Taxes on your income and earnings 1
Income tax and national insurance 1
National insurance contributions 3
Paying tax 7
Taxes on high earners 10
The Laffer curve 13
Sports, prizes and betting 16
With betting, the tax inspector always wins 18
The poverty trap 20
2 Taxes on what you spend 23
Value added tax 23
How VAT works 27
Zero rated and exempt from VAT 30
Europe, Brexit and VAT 32
Customs and excise 34
Excise duties 36
Fuel duty and green taxes 41
Oil and gas extraction 44
Green taxes 45
Global warming 47
3 Taxes on what you own 51
Capital gains tax 51
Paying capital gains tax 54
Taxes on homes and property 56
Inheritance tax 57
Stamp duty land tax 59
Council tax 62
Buy to let 63
The mansion tax and wealth taxes 65
Taxes on pensions and saving 67
Other ways to save 71
How to live comfortably while paying almost no tax at all 72
4 Taxes on business 77
Taxing business 77
Tax on the self?]employed and small businesses 78
Tax on companies 79
Personal service companies 81
The tradesman’s entrance 84
Multinationals and international tax 86
Territorial taxes 88
Tax havens 90
A bit of BEPS 91
Where does big business make its profits? 93
Tax competition 97
Taxing what you can’t touch 99
Taxes on financial transactions 103
5 Taxes evaded, avoided and reformed 107
Film finance: how governments encourage planning, avoidance and evasion 107
Tax evasion 113
Tax avoidance and the general anti?]abuse rule 117
A changing climate 119
Avoiding income tax 122
The new fight against aggressive avoidance 124
Tax planning 126
Tax reform 128
1. Stop cutting income tax and start cutting national insurance 130
2. Start the 45% tax rate at £100, 000 instead of £150, 000 130
3. Tax companies according to their accounting profits 130
4. Expand the scope of VAT 131
5. Introduce a minimum income tax rate for the wealthy while abolishing most income tax anti?-avoidance rules and incentives 131
Conclusion: the Three Golden Rules of tax 133
The First Golden Rule: Lots of small taxes together add up to make big tax bills 133
The Second Golden Rule: No matter what name is on the bill, all taxes are ultimately suffered by human beings 134
The Third Golden Rule: Taxes are kept as invisible as possible 135
Index 139
Yazar hakkında
JAMES HANNAM, PHD, has spent twenty years advising clients on every aspect of the UK tax regime while working for firms including EY, Freshfields, and KPMG.
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