Day 9: 12 days of Xmas

Generali

Increasingly badly named. Oh well. Normally it ends early. Hopefully this won't end up as the 1 Day of Lent Quiz.

So, Q9.

When did the current income tax regime come into play (i.e. since when have income taxes been collected continuously)? What was the original rate?

To give you a clue, if your answer if Napoleon was alive on the year you give you are wrong.

Also bear in mind that the income tax rate is given as pence in the pound not a %age traditionally (probably not any more....country going to the dogs....chunter...splutter) and there has not always been 100p in the pound.

Masomnia

I'm going to guess 1860ish and 10d. I can imagine that as Victorian England was expanding and the Empire growing with lots of wars going on we'd need the extra income by then.

10d is a complete stab in the dark, but that would be around 5% which sounds about reasonable.

Generali

Masomnia wrote: »

I'm going to guess 1860ish and 10d. I can imagine that as Victorian England was expanding and the Empire growing with lots of wars going on we'd need the extra income by then.

10d is a complete stab in the dark, but that would be around 5% which sounds about reasonable.

A bit too late and a bit too high but not bad at all as a guess.

:money: Martin likes it. :money:

AIUI, it was post-war austerity (happy to be corrected as ever). Debts had been run up fighting this and that war and this was a good time to get them under control.

Masomnia

I did a history degree so I'd like to think it was an educated guess

Masomnia

I have to be honest though if you hadn't mentioned about the pence in the pound thing I wouldn't have even thought of that and quoted a percentage!

Generali

Masomnia wrote: »

I did a history degree so I'd like to think it was an educated guess

If you'd done economic history instead you'd have got it.

Peel introduced it which is ironic when you consider that the Conservatives have spent most of the time since trying to rein in the monster that income tax as become.

Rinoa

I thought the income tax was to pay for the Napoleonic wars. Maybe we were still paying long after he died so introduced income tax to speed repayment up. The figure 7d springs to mind. No idea on date.

Generali

Rinoa wrote: »

I thought the income tax was to pay for the Napoleonic wars. Maybe we were still paying long after he died so introduced income tax to speed repayment up. The figure 7d springs to mind. No idea on date.

It was originally brought in to pay for the Napoleonic Wars but was rescinded and then reintroduced by the same PM before being scrapped a bit after Waterloo where Napoleon met his erm....never mind.

A while later Income Tax was reintroduced and has been payable by the filthy rich earning as much as the minimum wage on occasion ever since.

You have the rate spot on BTW. It's a funny number IMHO. You'd imagine that sixpence or a shilling would be the way to go. Maybe someone could calculate pretty well what they thought it would raise quite precisely, or at least thought they could.

vivatifosi

I don't know what year except I think reign of Victoria, but I think it was something like 4d to the pound. About four years ago I found a book at the library about the changing cost of things over time and posted some of the facts here.

Unsurprisingly it was the info about house prices and inflation that stoked the most interest.

I am probably wrong though. My recall of facts from several years back is sketchy at best. Have enough trouble remembering what I had for breakfast.

Generali

vivatifosi wrote: »

I don't know what year except I think reign of Victoria, but I think it was something like 4d to the pound. About four years ago I found a book at the library about the changing cost of things over time and posted some of the facts here.

Unsurprisingly it was the info about house prices and inflation that stoked the most interest.

I am probably wrong though. My recall of facts from several years back is sketchy at best. Have enough trouble remembering what I had for breakfast.

You are mostly wrong, sorry viva.

If it helps, I too struggle to remember what you had for breakfast.

Generali

Masomnia wrote: »

I have to be honest though if you hadn't mentioned about the pence in the pound thing I wouldn't have even thought of that and quoted a percentage!

Nor would I. When I was researching the answers I remembered the Budgets when I was younger and the old farts reporting on them used to talk about tax rates of xxp in the £. I never understood why until now.