Inland Revenue - History

History

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.

A separate Board of Stamps was created by the Stamps Act 1694. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, stamp duties were extended to cover newspapers, pamphlets, lottery tickets, apprentices' indentures, advertisements, playing cards, dice, hats, gloves, patent medicines, perfumes, insurance policies, gold and silver plate, hair powder and armorial bearings (coats of arms).

In June 1833, a single body of Commissioners was set up to merge the revenues of stamps and taxes. The Board of Taxes and the Board of Stamps were formally combined under the Land Tax Act 1834.

The Board of Inland Revenue was created under the Inland Revenue Board Act 1849, after the Board of Excise and the Board of Stamps and Taxes were amalgamated. Responsibility for excise taxes was transferred to the Board of Customs and Excise in 1909.

In 1996 to help promote self-assessment tax returns, Inland Revenue created the character of Hector the Tax Inspector to help in their advertising campaign.

The 2004 Budget included proposals to merge HM Customs and Excise with the Board of Inland Revenue to form a new department, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The merger was implemented by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 with effect from 18 April 2005.