Inland Revenue
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| Non-ministerial government department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1849 |
| Preceding agencies | |
| Dissolved | 18 April 2005 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | Somerset House, London |
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty. More recently, the Inland Revenue also administered the Tax Credits schemes, whereby monies, such as Working Tax Credit (WTC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), are paid by the Government into a recipient's bank account or as part of their wages. The Inland Revenue was also responsible for the payment of child benefit.
The Inland Revenue was merged with HM Customs and Excise to form HM Revenue and Customs which came into existence on 18 April 2005. The former Inland Revenue thus became part of HM Revenue and Customs. Colloquially, especially among those not in the youngest taxpaying bracket, 'Revenue and Customs' has not yet widely replaced the former name. The current name was promoted by the use of the expression 'from Revenue and Customs' in a series of annual radio, and to a lesser extent, television public information broadcasts in the 2000s and 2010s.
The beginnings of the Inland Revenue date from 1665, when a Board of Taxes was set up following the introduction of special taxes to pay for the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A central organisation to supervise the collection of the special taxes was required.
Taxes administered by the Board of Taxes included the land tax, first levied in 1692, together with an assortment of other assessed taxes, including taxes on houses, windows and dogs. Income tax was introduced in various forms in 1797, 1799, 1803 to 1816, and then reintroduced as an annual tax in 1842 which is formally renewed in each year's Finance Act.
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