TAX GUIDE SINCE 1915 Edited by `A. Layman' (Harrop Mosley) Smith's Taxation was first published in 1915, as a slim volume of 80 pages, with the title of The A.B.C. of Income Tax Return Making. Mr `Smith' only appeared on the scene some years later. Those were the days! No Corporation Tax or Capital Gains Tax, Death Duties instead of Inheritance Tax, and Purchase Tax rather than VAT. A few facts from the 1915 edition revealed:- Schedule D profits were averaged over 3 years. Capital Allowances (Wear and Tear) were for example 7.5% on Gas Engines but only 5% on Steam Engines. Capital Allowances on Motor Cars were 15% (or more according to the make of the car). Personal allowances were £160 pa. Basic rate income tax was 9d in the pound - that's 3.75p! Some 90 years and over 100 editions later Smith's Taxation has been edited since 1992 by Clive Steward, a Chartered Accountant and Sole Practitioner.