What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax

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.

• About the author xiIntroduction xiii1 Taxes on your income and earnings 1Income tax and national insurance 1National insurance contributions 3Paying tax 7Taxes on high earners 10The Laffer curve 13Sports, prizes and betting 16With betting, the tax inspector always wins 18The poverty trap 202 Taxes on what you spend 23Value added tax 23How VAT works 27Zero rated and exempt from VAT 30Europe, Brexit and VAT 32Customs and excise 34Excise duties 36Fuel duty and green taxes 41Oil and gas extraction 44Green taxes 45Global warming 473 Taxes on what you own 51Capital gains tax 51Paying capital gains tax 54Taxes on homes and property 56Inheritance tax 57Stamp duty land tax 59Council tax 62Buy to let 63The mansion tax and wealth taxes 65Taxes on pensions and saving 67Other ways to save 71How to live comfortably while paying almost no tax at all 724 Taxes on business 77Taxing business 77Tax on the self]employed and small businesses 78Tax on companies 79Personal service companies 81The tradesman’s entrance 84Multinationals and international tax 86Territorial taxes 88Tax havens 90A bit of BEPS 91Where does big business make its profits? 93Tax competition 97Taxing what you can’t touch 99Taxes on financial transactions 1035 Taxes evaded, avoided and reformed 107Film finance: how governments encourage planning, avoidance and evasion 107Tax evasion 113Tax avoidance and the general anti]abuse rule 117A changing climate 119Avoiding income tax 122The new fight against aggressive avoidance 124Tax planning 126Tax reform 1281. Stop cutting income tax and start cutting national insurance 1302. Start the 45% tax rate at £100,000 instead of £150,000 1303. Tax companies according to their accounting profits 1304. Expand the scope of VAT 1315. Introduce a minimum income tax rate for the wealthy while abolishing most income tax anti-avoidance rules and incentives 131Conclusion: the Three Golden Rules of tax 133The First Golden Rule: Lots of small taxes together add up to make big tax bills 133The Second Golden Rule: No matter what name is on the bill, all taxes are ultimately suffered by human beings 134The Third Golden Rule: Taxes are kept as invisible as possible 135Index 139

"This is a cracking little guide to the UK's tax system."??(PQ Magazine, July 2017) "... packed with insightful observations and comment."??(International Investment, May 2017) "... chock full of essential information and interesting fact. I can highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get a grip of the complex UK tax system."??(Frost Magazine, March 2017)