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* * * News for 21st September 2007 * * *

All of Medway: 21st September 2007

Money Nearly a Hundred Extra Taxes Under Labour

Government tax rises bring total to a whopping 99 since Labour came to power.

Although this is mainly a national issue rather than local, the effect on the nation's Council Tax charges is one of the 99 tax rises that the Labour government has introduced since coming to power in 1997. Here is the complete list, sourced from Budgets and Pre-Budget Reports:

    1997

  1. Mortgage interest relief cut
  2. Pensions tax (payable tax credits abolished)
  3. Health insurance taxed (income tax relief abolished)
  4. Health insurance taxed again (IPT)
  5. Fuel tax escalator up
  6. Vehicle Excise Duty up
  7. Tobacco duty escalator up
  8. Stamp duty up for properties over £250,000
  9. Limit carry back of trading losses to one year
  10. Dividends on trading assets
  11. Taxation of finance leasing
  12. New Windfall Tax on utilities
  13. Futures and options
  14. VAT: cash accounting scheme

    1998

  15. Married couple's allowance cut
  16. Tax on travel insurance up
  17. Tax on casinos and gaming machines up
  18. Fuel tax escalator brought forward
  19. Tax on company cars up
  20. Tax relief for foreign earnings abolished
  21. Tax concession for certain professions abolished
  22. Capital Gains Tax imposed on certain non-residents
  23. Reinvestment relief restricted
  24. Corporation Tax payments brought forward and ACT abolished
  25. Higher stamp duty rates up
  26. Some hydrocarbon duties up
  27. Additional diesel duties
  28. Landfill Tax up
  29. Exceptional increase in tobacco and alcohol duties
  30. Amendments to offshore trusts
  31. VAT: fuel scale charges

    1999

  32. NIC earnings limit raised
  33. NICs for self-employed up
  34. Married Couple's Allowance abolished
  35. Mortgage tax relief abolished
  36. IR35: Taxation of personal services companies
  37. Company car business mileage allowances restricted
  38. Tobacco duty escalator brought forward
  39. Insurance Premium Tax up
  40. Vocational Training Relief abolished
  41. Employer NICs extended to all benefits in kind
  42. VAT on some banking services up
  43. Premiums paid to tenants by landlords taxed
  44. Duty on minor oils up
  45. Vehicle Excise Duties for lorries up
  46. Landfill tax escalator introduced
  47. Higher rates of stamp duty up again
  48. Capital gains on sale of companies
  49. Controlled Foreign Companies: taxation of dividends

    2000

  50. Tobacco duties up
  51. Higher rates of stamp duty up again
  52. Extra taxation of life assurance companies
  53. Rules on Controlled Foreign Companies extended
  54. Aggregates levy increased
  55. Changes to double taxation relief
  56. Rent factoring
  57. Capital gains tax: use of trusts and offshore companies
  58. VAT: capital asset disposals

    2001

  59. Controlled foreign companies regime

    2002

  60. Personal allowances frozen
  61. National Insurance threshold frozen
  62. NICs for employers up
  63. NICs for employees up
  64. NICs for self-employed up
  65. North Sea taxation up
  66. Tax on some alcoholic drinks up
  67. New stamp duty regime
  68. New rules on loan relationships
  69. Taxation of foreign company UK branches

  70. 2003: VAT on electronically supplied services
  71. IR35 applied to domestic workers
  72. Betting duty change
  73. Tax on red diesel and fuel oil up
  74. Controlled Foreign Companies measures on Ireland
  75. Vehicle excise duty up
  76. VAT: on continuous supplies
  77. VAT: on privately operated tolls
  78. Treatment of options for the purposes of tax on chargeable gains
  79. Landfill tax increased

    2004

  80. Minimum 19% tax rate on distributed profits
  81. Transfer pricing and thin capitalisation
  82. Increase in rate of tax on trusts
  83. Increase in tax on red diesel fuel
  84. Increase in tax on other road fuels (including LPG)
  85. VAT: transfers of going concern
  86. Insurance premium tax: Changes to GAP insurance
  87. Taxation of life companies
  88. Foreign earnings deduction for seafarers
  89. Construction industry scheme

    2005

  90. Stamp duty land tax: ending commercial disadvantaged areas relief
  91. Increase in North Sea corporation tax
  92. Further increase in tax on red diesel
  93. Increase in taxation of leasing
  94. Company car tax up

    2006

  95. Further changes to oil valuation for tax purposes
  96. Stamp duty land tax: ending relief for initial transfers into unit trusts
  97. Removal of income tax exemption for loaned computers
  98. North Sea Oil tax increased
  99. Air Passenger Duty doubled
A typical household will now be paying around £350 more per month in tax than in 1997 (more in actual money, but this figure is allowing for inflation).