subject: Disputed Taxes in The United Kingdom [print this page] Disputed Taxes in The United Kingdom
Taxes are something that we can always count on, something that's always going to be there. But in the UK they seem to be taking things a step further and placing taxes on some things that are quite ridiculous.
For instance, in the UK you have to pay a tax if you own a TV set. It doesn't matter if you don't watch the TV set, as long as you have one the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) says that you have to pay taxes. Those that own a colour TV have to pay 166 pounds a year and those that own a black and white TV set have to pay 39 pounds a year ($64 in the US). The bad thing is that the tax goes up each year and people that don't pay the tax could be thrown in jail. The reason for the tax is that the BBC requires funding, and in order to secure that funding they feel that they have to tax anyone that uses their services.
Even people that don't own a television still have to deal with the BBC since the corporation seems to believe the the concept of someone not owning a television is completely absurd. UK citizens that don't own a television are suspected of being license-dodgers.
Another ridiculous tax is a tax for the dead...in a way. Inheritance tax is the tax paid on the estate of a domicile of the UK when they die. In most cases, domicile is gained through birth, parents or long-term residence. A person's estate can include their car, home, investments, bank accounts, and even things that the deceased had given away during the last seven years before they died. Inheritance tax also applies to certain gifts made while the person was alive, paying money to a particular trust for example.
The Air Passenger Duty has more than a few citizens of the United Kingdom looking for alternate modes of transportation. Basically anyone flying has to pay taxes. Flying in from another country like France or Ireland is cheaper, but citizens in the UK have to pay twelve times as much as other European countries. The Air Passenger Duty also affects people that aren't citizens of the UK, but merely flying through an airport in the UK. With the price of fuel rising it looks like it's easier to walk, bike, or take the bus to get to wherever you need to go.
Taxes are a part of life, but they shouldn't be something that makes your life a nightmare. Citizens of the UK can only hope that they reform some of the more ridiculous taxes and that they don't increase the ones already in existence, either that or they can hope that they can find some way of bypassing them...legally, of course
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