Resumen
The Income Tax Act 2007 (ITA 2007) is the principal income tax statute for individuals in the United Kingdom, produced as part of the Tax Law Rewrite Project to restate existing law in clearer and more accessible language. It consolidates the income tax charging provisions, the calculation of liability, personal reliefs and allowances, and a number of investment incentive schemes. The Act sets out, in s.23, the sequential 'steps' for calculating a taxpayer's income tax liability: calculating net income, deducting personal allowances, identifying the tax bands, and applying the relevant rates to each component of income (non-savings income at the main rate, savings income at the savings rates, and dividends at the dividend rates). The annual Finance Acts update the rates and thresholds in ITA 2007 but the structural framework remains constant. The Act also contains the detailed provisions governing the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), Seed EIS, Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs), the Community Investment Tax Relief scheme, and the anti-avoidance provisions on disguised remuneration and transactions in securities.
Puntos clave
- Calculation of income tax liability — seven sequential steps for computing tax payable (s.23), from net income to income tax charged
- Personal allowance — basic personal allowance available to all UK residents (s.35); tapered away for incomes above £100,000 by £1 for every £2 of excess (s.35(2)); updated by Finance Acts
- Tax rates and bands — basic rate (20%), higher rate (40%), additional rate (45%); savings rates and dividend rates differ from the main rates (s.10, updated by Finance Acts)
- Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) — 30% income tax relief on qualifying investments up to £1m per year (Part 5); investments also exempt from CGT if held 3 years
- Seed EIS (SEIS) — 50% income tax relief on qualifying investments in very early-stage companies up to £200,000 per year (Part 5A, inserted by Finance Act 2012)
- Venture Capital Trusts (VCT) — 30% income tax relief on subscriptions up to £200,000 per year; dividends exempt from income tax (Part 6)
- Gift Aid — donors paying basic rate tax can make Gift Aid declarations on charitable donations, allowing charities to reclaim the basic rate tax; higher and additional rate taxpayers can claim the higher rate relief in their returns (Part 8, Chapter 2)
- Anti-avoidance — transactions in securities (Part 13) and income charged as a result of anti-avoidance provisions; disguised remuneration provisions supplemented by Finance (No.2) Act 2017
Partes y secciones
Historial de enmiendas
2012 — Finance Act 2012
Inserted Part 5A into ITA 2007, creating the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) offering 50% income tax relief for investments of up to £100,000 (subsequently increased) in qualifying seed-stage companies.
2017 — Finance (No. 2) Act 2017
Significant changes to the disguised remuneration provisions (Part 7A) and the loan charge rules in ITA 2007, aimed at tackling tax avoidance through employment benefit trusts and similar arrangements.