CorpComms Magazine

Why does the tax year start on 6 April? What's wrong with 1 January? Is it an Inland Revenue trap to make us think we're paying less?

Have you not read the papers? Nobody is paying less tax this year! But there is some logic to the 6 April tax year. It dates back to the Middle Ages.

Are you telling me that along with disease, pestilence and the Hundred Years' War, our forebears had to deal with taxes?

Not exactly. Back then the calendar was split into quarters, and the first day of each coincided with a religious festival. And on the first day of each quarter the rent money had to be paid and payroll services carried out.

Surely the tax year should start on 1 April, or would that cause too many April Fool jokes?

It's slightly more complicated than that. The calendar year used to start on 25 March (take my word for it, it just gets mindbogglingly complex otherwise) but in 1752, Britain dropped the Julian calendar in favour of the Gregorian one, which was used in Europe. The only problem was that the Gregorian calendar was adrift by 11 days, which meant that (to avoid confusion) they dropped 11 days starting 4 September. The next day's date became 15 September.

Avoid confusion - are you kidding? Julian! Gregorian! The disappearance of 4 September 1752, and the next ten days! I only asked a simple question...

I'm trying my best. It's fair to say that people weren't happy (particularly, I'm guessing, those whose birthdays had disappeared) and so the Inland Revenue felt it might not be politic to levy a full year's taxes on 25 March when the year only had 354 days. So it moved the day back 11 days to 5 April.

But I asked about 6 April?

Patience! I'm getting there...apparently the date moved to 6 April in 1800 because it was a leap year and, no, I have no idea why it didn't move back to 5 April the following year. Could you ask me something easier next time?!

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