UK Taxation for Students assumes absolutely no prior knowledge of UK taxation. It is completely self-contained covering the main areas of taxation studied at undergraduate level and initially for many professional exams. It can be used to support other texts and includes all the various allowances, tax rates etc. that a student may need at the front of the book. It is written in a user-friendly manner, avoiding "tax jargon" and using, wherever possible, plain and straightforward English. It includes numerous examples throughout the text designed to illustrate particular points and then provides further examples for you to try in Appendix 2. Appendix 3 includes over 100 True or False questions for you to dip into at any time to test your understanding. Appendix 1 I contains suggested some tips for studying tax. This book covers the main UK taxes; income tax (paid by individuals), capital gains tax (paid by individuals), corporation tax (paid by companies), value added tax (levied on consumers by businesses), inheritance tax (normally payable on the death of an individual) and National Insurance Contributions. Although primarily aimed at students studying at undergraduate level, these are the taxes that typically form the core of the syllabus for most of the UK's professional examinations in taxation such as those of the ACCA, AAT and possibly ATT, although no specific professional syllabus has been followed. In general, each of the chapters should be read through in the order that they are arranged as later chapters often assume knowledge from earlier chapters. Having said this, the Value Added Tax and Inheritance Tax chapters could be studied at any point, as a standalone as both are very different from the other taxes studied.

Our tax system is a mess. And the reason for that mess is, our tax system is incoherent. A well-designed tax system is like a good jigsaw puzzle: all the pieces fit together snugly, so when the whole thing is fully assembled, it forms a coherent picture. But our current tax system is disjointed, with parts that don't logically fit together. That results in inconsistencies, complexity, loopholes, and distorted incentives. We need a tax system that make sense. As this book shows however, making a traditional income tax coherent is an impossible goal. But coherence is achievable if we adjust our target, and complete the switch to a consumed-income tax -- a system that taxes all income, not when it is earned, but when that income is consumed. The move towards a consumed-income tax was begun decades ago, when we first adopted IRAs and other tax-deferred savings accounts. We just needed to complete the evolution. The book explores a variety of tax issues -- among them savings, small businesses, owner-occupied houses, and corporations -- and develops seven groups of recommended changes. These changes would result in a tax system that would be pro-growth, by eliminating the existing disincentives to saving and investment. But the tax system would also remain progressive, with the wealthy taxed as much as and perhaps even more than currently. That combination could make the recommended changes attractive to members of both parties, and might bring to a close the political seesaw in tax policy that we've experienced over that last several decades.