About: Income Tax Act 1842

The Income Tax Act 1842 (citation 5 & 6 Vict c. 35) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed under the government of Robert Peel, which re-introduced an income tax in Britain, at the rate of 7 pence (2.9%, there then being 240 pence in the pound) in the pound on all annual incomes greater than £150. It was the first imposition of income tax in Britain outside of wartime. Although promoted as a temporary measure, income tax has been levied continually in Britain ever since. In its detail, the Act of 1842 was substantially similar to the introduced by Henry Addington during the Napoleonic Wars.