ABSTRACT
The UK government collects taxes from individuals and businesses every year. The SQE curriculum for Business Law and Practice includes income tax, capital gains tax, corporation tax, and value-added tax (VAT). Other taxes such as inheritance tax and stamp duty land tax are also features of the SQE curriculum in other areas. This chapter looks at income tax, the tax that most of the public will have to pay at some point during their lives. Although expert detailed advice on taxation matters is usually left to trained accountants or tax law specialists, newly qualified solicitors do need to be aware of the potential liabilities for various forms of taxation and how the taxation is calculated. The chapter looks at what income actually is, who is liable to pay it, the various rates of income tax, and the steps involved in calculating income tax. This chapter also considers various anti-avoidance measures and the modern judicial approach to statutory interpretation of taxation statutes.
