The history of taxation in the United Kingdom includes the history of all collections by governments under law, in money or in kind, including collections by monarchs and lesser feudal lords, levied on persons or property subject to the government, with the primary purpose of raising revenue.

3. c. 18), An Act for granting to His Majesty severall Rates or Duties upon Houses for making good the Deficiency of the clipped Money.

[6] In fact the first permanent British income tax was not introduced until 1842, and the issue remained intensely controversial well into the 20th century.

[8][9] Income tax was first implemented in Great Britain by William Pitt the Younger in his budget of December 1798 to pay for weapons and equipment in preparation for the Napoleonic Wars.

Addington's Act for a "contribution of the profits arising from property, professions, trades and offices" (the words "income tax" were deliberately avoided) introduced two significant changes.

[7] Pitt in opposition had argued against Addington's innovations; he adopted them largely unchanged, however, when he returned to office in 1804.

He was inclined to maintain the income tax, but public sentiment was heavily against it and – predictably – the opposition championed its abolition.

A Conservative, Disraeli opposed Peel's repeal of the Corn Laws (which had inflated the price of imported grain to support home farmers).

With the Whigs defeated in 1858, Disraeli returned as Chancellor and in his Budget speech described income tax as "unjust, unequal and inquisitorial" and "to continue for a limited time on the distinct understanding that it should ultimately be repealed".

In 1866, the Whigs' modest attempts at parliamentary reform failed to win support in Parliament and the Conservatives returned to power, although with no overall majority.

This gave the vote to all householders and to those paying more than £10 in rent in towns – and so enfranchising many of the working class for the first time.

While Disraeli had gambled that an increased electorate would ensure a Conservative majority, and in 1868 he was prime minister, the election of that year saw the Liberals – as the Whigs had become – victorious under Gladstone.

With worsening trade conditions, including the decline of agriculture as a result of poor harvests and North American imports, the opportunity never arose again.

The government avoided indirect taxes because such methods tend to raise the cost of living, and can create discontent among the working class.

The Treasury rejected proposals for a stiff capital levy, which the Labour Party wanted to use to weaken the capitalists.

Under Labour chancellor Gordon Brown, the basic rate of income tax was further reduced in stages to 20% by 2007.

[19] The Scotland Act 2016 gave the Scottish Parliament full control over income tax rates and bands, except the personal allowance.

The use of "from" is crucial because the word has a special legal meaning which caused the tax year to begin one day later, namely, on 26 March.

This rule of interpretation dates back at least to Sir Edward Coke's landmark work of 1628 called the Institutes of the Lawes of England.

]Coke's Institutes were an important source of education for lawyers and editions were published up to the nineteenth century.

This is why tax acts in the eighteenth century used "from" 25 March in an exclusive sense to mean a period beginning on the following day.

Numerous court cases have arisen because the technical meaning of from a date in acts and documents has been misunderstood.

This view is taken by leading authorities including The Exchequer Year,[32][33] The Pipe Roll Society[34] and Dr Robert Poole in two works.

He says: ... so the national accounts continued to be made up to end on the Old Style quarter-days of 5 January, 5 April, 5 July and 10 October.

[38]Some commentators, such as Philip (1921),[39] have suggested the government added eleven days to the end of the tax year which began on 26 March 1752.

The Inland Revenue took this view in 1999 in a (subsequently deleted) note issued on the 200th anniversary of the introduction of income tax in 1799.

Hence there was ample opportunity to revise the date on which the Land Tax year began but no change was made.

Online editions of British statutes generally omit the annual Land Tax Acts because of their transitory nature.

The National Archives at Kew holds printed statute series which include copies of all the Land Tax Acts.

[39] The relevant passage is short: A curious instance of the persistence of the old style is to be found in the date of the financial year of the British Exchequer.