HC Deb 17 May 1957 vol 570 cc47-50W
Mr. Brockway

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are now the rates of Income Tax in operation in Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika compared with the rates for similar incomes in this country.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd:

There has been no change in the rates of Income Tax levied in East Africa since my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary answered a similar Question from the hon. Member on 22nd January.

The equivalent rates in the United Kingdom are as follows:

Income Tax
On chargeable income Rate of tax on each £ of chargeable income
First £60 2s. 3d.
Next £150 4s. 9d.
Next £150 6s. 9d.
Remainder 8s. 6d.

Corporate bodies pay Income Tax at the standard rate, that is 8s. 6d. in the £. They are also subject to Profits Tax which is not levied in East Africa.

Surtax (payable in addition to Income Tax)
Chargeable income Rate of Surtax (see Note (2))
First £500 over the surtax limit (see Note (1)) 2s. 0d. in the £
Next £500 2s. 6d. „ „
„ £1,000 3s. 6d. „ „
„ £1,000 4s. 6d. „ „
„ £1,000 5s. 6d. „ „
„ £2,000 6s. 6d. „ „
„ £2,000 7s. 6d. „ „
„ £2,000 8s. 6d. „ „
„ £3,000 9s. 6d. „ „
Remainder 10s. 0d. „ „

It is proposed in the current Finance Bill that Note (1) Surtax shall be payable on incomes in excess of £2,000 in respect of single persons. It will start at higher incomes in respect of taxpayers who are entitled to personal allowances above the single allowance.

Note (2) the rates apply only to the successive slices of total income. Thus, where the total income is £3,000, the surtax is 2s. in the £ on the slice between £2,000 and £2,500 and 2s. 6d. in the £ on the slice between £2,500 and £3,000—a total liability of £112 10s. 0d.

It is difficult to make a comparison between the tax payable in East Africa and in the United Kingdom on the basis of the above rates owing to differences in the structure of allowances, which are deductible from total income to obtain chargeable income. In general, allowances are less in East Africa than in the United Kingdom mainly because there is no earned income allowance in East Africa. As examples the following tables show the amount of tax payable in East Africa and the United Kingdom respectively by (1) a single person (2) married couples without children (3) married couples with two children, neither of whom are at school in East Africa and neither of whom are over 11 years of age in the United Kingdom and (4) married couples with two children both of whom are at school in East Africa and thus in receipt of educational allowance and both of whom are over 11 but not over 16 years of age in the United Kingdom. In the case of the United Kingdom it is assumed that all income is earned income.

(1) Single Persons
Tax payable in
Income East Africa(c) United Kingdom(d)
£ £ s. £ s. d.
200 1 15 0
250 4 13 6 2 6
300 9 7 14 13 4
350 14 0 23 18 0
400 18 15 33 2 9
500 28 2 55 10 0
600 40 12 81 15 0
700 55 13 111 17 9
800 72 13 144 18 10
900 91 12 178 0 0
1,000 112 10 211 1 1
1,250 160 3 293 13 10
1,500 215 12 376 6 8
2,000 340 0 541 12 2
2,500 486 17 756 17 9
3,000 665 0 984 13 4
4,000 1,105 12 1,490 4 5
5,000 1,605 12 2,092 15 3
6,000 2,155 12 2,745 10 10
8,000 3,405 12 4,151 1 11
10,000 4,849 7(a) 5,659 5 0
20,000 12,349 7(b) 14,684 5 0
(a) Tanganyika £4,799 7s.
(b) Tanganyika £11,799 7s.
(c) The East African rates do not include the surcharge and personal tax payable in Kenya.
(d) The figures for the United Kingdom take account of changes proposed in the current Finance Bill.

(2) Married Couples without Children
Tax payable in
Income East Africa(c) United Kingdom(d)
£ £ s. £ s. d.
350 3 12 6
400 3 15 9 7 9
500 11 5 27 17 2
600 18 15 48 0 0
700 26 5 74 5 0
800 35 3 102 8 10
900 46 8 135 10 0
1,000 58 18 168 11 1
1,250 95 12 251 3 10
1,500 140 3 333 16 8
2,000 252 10 499 2 2
2,500 399 7 704 7 9
3,000 577 10 929 13 4
4,000 1,018 2 1,430 4 5
5,000 1,518 2 2,027 15 3
6,000 2,068 2 2,675 10 10
8,000 3,318 2 4,076 1 11
10,000 4,761 17(a) 5,579 5 0
20,000 12,261 17(b) 14,591 15 0
(a) Tanganyika £4,711 17s.
(b) Tanganyika £11,411 5s.
(c) The East African rates do not include the surcharge and personal tax payable in Kenya.
(d) The figures for the United Kingdom take account of changes proposed in the current Finance Bill.

(3) Married Couples with Two Children and no additional children's allowances.
Tax payable in
Income East Africa(c) United Kingdom(d)
£ £ s. £ s. d.
600 5 5 3 0 0
700 12 15 17 6 1
800 20 5 35 15 6
900 27 15 59 5 0
1,000 37 6 85 10 0
1,250 68 8 166 3 10
1,500 107 6 248 16 8
2,000 208 11 414 2 2
2,500 354 7 599 7 9
3,000 532 10 819 13 4
4,000 973 2 1,310 4 5
5,000 1,473 2 1,897 15 3
6,000 2,013 2 2,535 10 10
8,000 3,273 2 3,926 1 11
10,000 4,716 17(a) 5,419 5 0
20,000 12,216 17(b) 14,406 15 0
(a) Tanganyika £4,666 17s.
(b) Tanganyika £11,666 17s.
(c) The East African rates do not include the surcharge and personal tax payable in Kenya.
(d) The figures for the United Kingdom take account of changes proposed in the Current Finance Bill.

(4) Married Couples with Two Children and additional Children's allowances.
Tax payable in
Income East Africa(c) United Kingdom(d)
£ £ s. £ s. d.
700 1 10 6 2 6
800 9 0 23 18 0
900 16 10 42 7 6
1,000 24 0 68 12 6
1,250 48 16 144 18 10
1,500 83 0 227 11 8
2,000 174 18 392 17 2
2,500 316 17 578 2 9
3,000 495 0 798 8 4
4,000 935 12 1,288 19 5
5,000 1,435 12 1,876 10 3
6,000 1,985 12 2,514 5 10
8,000 3,235 12 3,904 16 11
10,000 4,679 7(a) 5,398 0 0
20,000 12,179 7(b) 14,385 10 0
(a) Tanganyika £4,629 7s.
(b) Tanganyika £11,629 7s.
(c) The East African rates do not include the surcharge and personal tax payable in Kenya.
(d) The figures for the United Kingdom take account of changes proposed in the current Finance Bill.